Full opinion text
J. SKELLY WRIGHT, Circuit Judge: On March 28,1979 Three Mile Island Unit 2, a nuclear reactor operated by Metropolitan Edison Company, was seriously damaged in the worst nuclear accident Americans have yet experienced. The incident precipitated widespread alarm and led to the evacuation of many neighboring residents from their homes. At the time of the event, Three Mile Island Unit 1 (TMI-1), another Metropolitan Edison nuclear reactor of similar design which shared some common facilities with Unit 2 (TMI-2), was not in operation. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Commission) ordered that it remain in a cold shutdown condition pending further investigation of whether it could be operated safely. Since then the Commission has held extensive hearings on technical, managerial, and operational issues related to the proposed restart of TMI-1. The Commission has refused, however, to consider whether renewed operation of TMI-1 might cause severe psychological harm to neighboring residents and serious economic and social deterioration in nearby communities. People Against Nuclear Energy (PANE), one of the intervenors in the restart proceeding, is composed primarily of neighbors of TMI. It seeks judicial review of the Commission’s decision to limit the scope of its inquiry in this manner. PANE contends that, under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq. (1976), and the Atomic Energy Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2133 (1976), the Commission must take into account potential harms to psychological health and community well-being. We hold that these environmental impacts are cognizable under NEPA. Therefore, the Commission must make a threshold determination, based on adequate study, whether the potential psychological health effects of renewed operation of TMI-1 are sufficiently significant that NEPA requires preparation of a supplemental environmental impact statement. I. Statement of the Case In 1974 Metropolitan Edison Company received an operating license for Unit 1, a nuclear power plant facility at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania. Four years later the company received an operating license for Unit 2, a nuclear facility of similar design at the same site. On March 28, 1979 Unit 2 suffered a serious nuclear accident which damaged the reactor, caused acute and widespread anxiety, and led the Governor of Pennsylvania to recommend temporary evacuation of pregnant women and preschool children from a five-mile radius surrounding the plant. At that time Unit 1 had been taken out of operation for refueling. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission ordered Metropolitan Edison to keep Unit 1 in a cold shutdown condition pending further order by the Commission. It also announced that a hearing would be conducted to determine whether TMI-1 operations could safely be resumed. Order of July 2, 1979, 44 Fed. Reg. 40461 (1979), Joint Appendix (JA) 21. On August 9, the Commission published an order and notice of hearing regarding the restart of TMI-1. 10 NRC 141-151 (1979), JA 22. Specifying a number of issues for consideration at the hearing, the Commission’s order also stated, “While real and substantial concern attaches to issues such as psychological distress and others arising from the continuing impact of aspects of the Three Mile Island accident unrelated directly to exposure to radiation on the part of citizens living near the plant, the Commission has not determined whether such issues can be legally relevant to this proceeding.” The Commission invited parties wishing to raise such subjects in the restart proceeding to submit briefs to the Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (Licensing Board) for consideration. 10 NRC at 148, JA 29. Petitioner PANE, an intervenor in the restart proceeding, filed two draft contentions which are at issue in this case: it asserted, first, that restart of TMI-1 would cause severe psychological distress to persons living in the vicinity of the reactor, and second, that renewed operations would seriously damage the stability, cohesiveness, and well-being of the neighboring communities because it would perpetuate loss of citizen confidence in community institutions and would discourage economic growth. JA 84r-86. In support of its draft contentions, PANE submitted a supporting brief, JA 91-117, and a preliminary plan for presentation of evidence on psychological distress, JA 88-90. After considering briefs from PANE, other intervenors, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the licensee, and the Commission’s staff, the Licensing Board issued a certification to the Commission on psychological distress issues. 11 NRC 297 (1980), JA 63. Discussing legal issues arising from the Atomic Energy Act and NEPA, the Board concluded that “the Commission, within its discretion, may and should consider psychological distress and community fears under NEPA for the purpose of mitigating the effects of its TMI-1 licensing activity.” Id. The Licensing Board accepted the contentions of the staff and the licensee that the Commission’s responsibility "under the Atomic Energy Act to protect the “public health and safety” did not extend to psychological health. It described the issue as a question of first impression. “[Psychological stress,” it concluded, “is probably not cognizable under the Atomic Energy Act but * * * the Commission might conclude to the contrary for reasons not discussed by the parties.” 11 NRC at 299, JA 65. On the other hand, the Board agreed with PANE that psychological distress was cognizable under NEPA. It asserted that psychological factors were sufficiently quantifiable to be considered, 11 NRC at 301-303, JA 67-69. Considering psychological factors in the restart proceeding would assist the Commission in mitigating community fears, the Board explained. • 11 NRC at 305-309, JA 71-75. It took no position on whether the Commission should prepare an environmental impact statement. 11 NRC at 304r-305, JA 70-71. When the Commission initially voted, in December 1980, on the question of whether to include psychological distress issues in the restart proceeding, one of the five seats on the Commission was vacant. The four Commissioners were evenly divided. Each Commissioner wrote a separate opinion expressing different reasons for his vote. Then-Chairman Ahearne and Commissioner Hendrie voted to exclude psychological stress issues. Then-Chairman Ahearne believed that the Commission was permitted, but not required, to consider psychological stress and community fears, but maintained that the best way to minimize these fears was to ensure that the plant was safe before approving restart. 12 NRC 609-611 (1980), JA 3-5. Commissioner Hendrie took the position that neither the Atomic Energy Act nor NEPA required the Commission to consider public fears, and he added, “Congress had already decided that the country is to have a nuclear power program even if it makes some people uneasy.” 12 NRC at 612-618, JA 6-12. Commissioners Gilinsky and Bradford voted to allow psychological stress contentions to be considered in the Licensing Board proceeding. Commissioner Gilinsky was influenced by the Licensing Board’s recommendation and, more importantly, by the contention of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that the Commission should investigate and consider the psychological effects of restarting TMI-1. 12 NRC at 619-620, JA 13-14. Also accepting the Licensing Board’s analysis, Commissioner Bradford noted that no other agency had authority to assess and act on stress-related issues in connection with restart of TMI-1. 12 NRC at 624, JA 18. He asserted that full consideration of the extent of stress was the most effective way to deal with stress-related harms. 12 NRC at 621-626, JA 15-20. The 2-to-2 vote constituted an effective rejection of the Licensing Board’s recommendation. Therefore the evidentiary hearing proceeded without consideration of PANE’S psychological distress and community deterioration contentions. In addition, the Commission staff excluded these issues from its environmental impact appraisal, submitted to the Commission in March 1981 and supplemented in May 1981, which recommended that no environmental impact statement be prepared in connection with the proposed restart of TMI-1. On September 17, 1981, after the appointment of a fifth Commissioner, Chairman Nunzio Palladino, the Commission adhered by a vote of 3-to-2 to its previous result. Chairman Palladino did not write an opinion or concur in any of the previous opinions. PANE filed a petition for review of the Commission’s order, issued December 5, 1980, which excluded its psychological stress and community deterioration contentions from the TMI-1 restart proceeding. It sought reversal on the basis of the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq. (1976), and the Atomic Energy Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2133 (1976). On January 7, 1982 this court issued an interim judgment, pending issuance of opinions, which ordered the Commission to prepare an environmental assessment of the effects of the proposed TMI-1 restart on the psychological health of neighboring residents and on the well-being of the surrounding communities. The judgment ordered the Commission to determine on the basis of this study whether to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement. Until the Commission had complied with the requirements of NEPA, it was ordered not to make any decision to restart TMI-1. On the Atomic Energy Act question this court ordered the Commission to submit to the court a statement of its reasons for concluding that the statute did not require consideration of psychological health in the restart proceeding. Judge Wilkey dissented from the judgment. The Commission’s statement of reasons was filed with this court on March 30, 1982. After further consideration of the NEPA issues, the court replaced the January 7, 1982 judgment with an amended judgment, entered on April 2, 1982. The amended judgment gave the Commission discretion to choose its procedures for studying the significance of the alleged psychological health impacts arising from the proposed restart of TMI-1. It made clear that the initial study should focus on psychological health effects. The Commission would be required to consider the secondary impacts on community well-being only if a full supplemental EIS was prepared. Finally, noting that the operators of TMI-1 had announced that extensive corrosion problems were likely to delay the restart by six to twelve months, the amended judgment lifted the injunction against restart as unnecessary to preserve the status quo. The court instructed the Commission, however, to give notice to the court and to petitioner if subsequently it intended to make a final decision regarding the restart of TMI — 1 prior to complying with its obligations under NEPA. II. National Environmental Policy Act The National Environmental Policy Act is designed to assure that governmental agencies take a “hard look” at the environmental consequences of major proposed actions, and that they adjust ongoing programs in light of new information or changed circumstances. PANE urges us to hold that NEPA requires the Commission to prepare a new or supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) on the psychological health effects and community deterioration that might result from restart of TMI — 1. We agree with PANE that these environmental effects fall within the scope of NEPA, and that the Commission has a continuing responsibility to comply with NEPA’s procedural requirements in its supervision of licensed nuclear facilities, including TMI-1. At the same time, we recognize the agency’s role in making a threshold determination of whether changed circumstances and new information regarding environmental effects require a supplemental EIS. We therefore remand the record to the Commission for a decision on the EIS question. A. Cognizability of Psychological Health and Community Deterioration PANE contends that NEPA requires the Commission to prepare a new or revised EIS to evaluate two distinct environmental effects of reopening TMI-1. First, PANE alleges that renewed operation of the nuclear reactor would cause “severe psychological distress” to persons living in the vicinity of the reactor, including PANE’S members. According to PANE, the accident at TMI — 2 created intense anxiety, tension, and fear, accompanied by physical disorders including skin rashes, aggravated ulcers, and skeletal and muscular problems. JA 84-86. Post-traumatic neurosis, PANE asserts, can be diagnosed with reasonable medical certainty on the basis of standardized quantitative tests. Petitioner’s brief at 46-47. Moreover, PANE argues, reopening TMI-1 would severely aggravate existing problems and would prevent Three Mile Island’s neighbors from resolving and recovering from the trauma they have suffered. JA 84-86. Second, PANE contends that resumption of operations at TMI-1 would cause severe harm to the “stability, cohesiveness and well being of the communities in the vicinity of the reactor.” Id. In petitioner’s view, citizens have lost confidence in the ability of community institutions to function effectively during a crisis; therefore the renewed danger of nuclear accidents would impose great strains on the community infrastructure. Moreover, PANE asserts, restarting TMI-1 would perpetuate the area’s image as an undesirable location for residents and businesses, thus causing permanent damage to the economic and social health of the community. Thus PANE’S first contention deals with individual health; its second addresses the social and economic impacts that perceived nuclear hazards might create in the communities in the vicinity of Three Mile Island. Both contentions allege environmental effects within the meaning of NEPA. 1. Potential damage to psychological health The President’s Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island reported that the “major health effect of the accident appears to have been on the mental health of the people living in the region of Three Mile Island and of the workers at TMI.” RePORT OF THE PRESIDENT’S COMMISSION on the Accident at Three Mile Island, The Need For Change: The Legacy Of TMI at 35 (Oct.1979), JA 267. As the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s staff has acknowledged, a great deal of study and attention has been devoted to attempts to measure the effects of the March 1979 accident at TMI-2 upon persons in the area, “including attempts to measure effects on mental health.” JA 177. The staff listed a number of separate studies, conducted by organizations including the Hershey Medical Center, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Western Psychiatric Institute of the University of Pittsburgh, and Central Pennsylvania Blue Shield, that considered the psychological effects of the Three Mile Island accident. Id. Nevertheless, the Commission’s brief contends that the psychological effects alleged by PANE, which were caused by the TMI-2 accident and would assertedly be perpetuated by restart of TMI-1, are beyond the scope of NEPA. Commission’s brief at 50-55. This assertion is far-reaching. Regardless of the severity of psychological health effects, the position taken in the Commission’s brief would exclude them from consideration at any stage of the NEPA procedures relating to any proposed federal action. We find this interpretation of NEPA unpersuasive. The Commission’s brief ignores the simple fact that effects on psychological health are effects on the health of human beings. In the National Environmental Policy Act, Congress accorded prominence to the effects of government actions on health and safety. NEPA was designed to “promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man.” 42 U.S.C. § 4321 (1976). The Act declared a national environmental policy of “encouragpng] productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment,” id., and explicitly recognized that each person “should enjoy a healthful environment,” id. § 4331(c). In its regulations implementing NEPA’s procedural requirements, the Council on Environmental Quality required agencies to consider “[t]he degree to which the proposed action affects public health and safety” as a factor in deciding whether a federal action “significantly” affected the human environment. 40 C.F.R. § 1508.27(b)(2) (1981). In short, “[n]o subject to be covered by an EIS can be more important than the potential effects of a federal program upon the health of human beings.” Citizens Against Toxic Sprays, Inc. v. Bergland, 428 F.Supp. 908, 927 (D.Or.1977). We conclude that, in the context of NEPA, health encompasses psychological health. To implement a national policy based on “the critical importance of restoring and maintaining environmental quality to the overall welfare and development of man,” 42 U.S.C. § 4331(a) (1976), Congress required each federal agency to utilize a “systematic, interdisciplinary approach which will insure the integrated use of the natural and social sciences and the environmental design arts.” Id. § 4332(2)(A); see 40 C.F.R. §§ 1502.6,1507.2 (1981); cf. Chelsea Neighborhood Ass’ns v. U. S. Postal Service, 516 F.2d 378, 388 (2d Cir. 1975) (social as well as physical sciences relevant under NEPA; agency must consider dangers of emotional and physical isolation of high-rise apartment building, which might as a result become a “human jungle”). Although we are not aware of any cases that have considered the cognizability of post-traumatic psychological health effects under NEPA, it is not surprising that this is an issue of first impression. Americans have never before experienced the psychological aftermath of a major accident at a nuclear power plant, one that aroused fears of a nuclear core meltdown and led to mass evacuation from the surrounding communities. See Report of the President’s Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island, supra, JA 257-271. PANE alleges that restarting TMI-1 would perpetuate the psychological health effects of the TMI-2 accident — intense anxiety, tension, and fear accompanied by physical disorders. Despite the sweeping language of Judge Wilkey’s dissent, PANE is not seeking to extend NEPA to “mere ‘anxieties.’ ” Wil-key dissent at 241. Nevertheless, the Commission’s brief contends that psychological distress is beyond the scope of NEPA because it is not readily quantifiable. Commission’s brief at 51-52. The Commission’s staff was unable to state “with any degree of certainty whether the psychic distress associated with continued operation of the TMI1 facility is sufficiently susceptible of measurement to permit a meaningful assessment of the phenomenon.” 11 NRC at 305, JA 71. On the other hand, the Licensing Board asserted that psychological factors were sufficiently quantifiable to be considered, noting that “some quantification of stress upon the community is being undertaken by responsible organizations.” 11 NRC at 302, JA 68. NEPA, moreover, does not authorize federal agencies to deal with intangible factors by ignoring them. It expressly instructs all federal agencies to identify and develop methods and procedures “which will insure that presently unquantified environmental amenities and values may be given appropriate consideration in decisionmaking along with economic and technical considerations.” 42 U.S.C. § 4332(2)(B) (1976). This expression of congressional purpose led the Commission’s Licensing Board to conclude, correctly, that “[p]recise numerical quantification is not necessary” under NEPA. 11 NRC at 302, JA 68. To support its position that “psychological distress” need not be considered at all in the NEPA process, the Commission’s brief relies on cases that rejected the cognizability of sociologically based community anxieties. Commission’s brief at 50-55. In these cases neighborhood associations, businesses, or other groups unsuccessfully sought to use NEPA to block or .delay proposed construction of government projects — low-income housing, federal detention centers, Job Corps centers, postal service facilities— primarily because they were afraid the projects would change the character of the neighborhood, reduce property values, and increase the dangers of crime. See, e.g., Como-Falcon Community Coalition, Inc. v. U. S. Dep’t of Labor, 609 F.2d 342, 345-346 (8th Cir. 1979), cert. denied, 446 U.S. 936, 100 S.Ct. 2154, 64 L.Ed.2d 789 (1980) (Job Corps center); Nucleus of Chicago Homeowners Ass’n v. Lynn, 524 F.2d 225, 231 (7th Cir. 1975), cert. denied, 424 U.S. 967, 96 S.Ct. 1462, 47 L.Ed.2d 734 (1976) (low-rent housing for low-income families); Maryland-Nat’l Capital Park & Planning Comm’n v. U. S. Postal Service, 487 F.2d 1029, 1037 (D.C.Cir.1973) (bulk mail postal facility in suburban area); First Nat’l Bank of Chicago v. Richardson, 484 F.2d 1369, 1380 n.13 (7th Cir. 1973) (federal parking garage and detention center in downtown area); Hanly v. Kleindienst, 471 F.2d 823, 833 & n.10 (2d Cir. 1972), cert, denied, 412 U.S. 908, 93 S.Ct. 2290, 36 L.Ed.2d 974 (1973) (detention center in downtown area not far from residential apartments). None of these cases, of course, presents the holocaust potential of an errant nuclear reactor. In these and other cases federal courts have consistently rejected the contention that socioeconomic anxieties are environmental impacts within the meaning of NEPA. The agency fulfills its responsibilities under NEPA in this context if it considers and mitigates the underlying causes for alarm, such as the possibility of increased noise, increased crime, and increased congestion. “Concerned persons might fashion a claim, supported by linguistics and etymology, that there is an impact from people pollution on ‘environment,’ if the term be stretched to its maximum,” Judge Leventhal explained. “We think this type of effect cannot fairly be projected as having been within the contemplation of Congress.” Maryland-Nat’l Capital Park & Planning Comm’n v. U. S. Postal Service, supra, 487 F.2d at 1037; see Nucleus of Chicago Homeowners Ass’n v. Lynn, supra, 524 F.2d at 231. In this case, in contrast, PANE is not asking the agency to evaluate the effect of “people pollution” on the environment, but rather the effect of a governmental decision on human health. We conclude that PANE’S allegation — in the wake of a unique and traumatic nuclear accident— that renewed operation of TMI — 1 may cause medically recognized impairment of the psychological health of neighboring residents is cognizable under NEPA. The key to our decision is the potential effect on health. Not all physical effects have an impact on physical health; similarly, not all psychological effects rise to the level of psychological health effects. In our view, Congress intended to include psychological health within the meaning of “health” for purposes of NEPA. NEPA does not encompass mere dissatisfactions arising from social opinions, economic concerns, or political disagreements with agency policies. It does apply to post-traumatic anxieties, accompanied by physical effects and caused by fears of recurring catastrophe. Therefore, the severity of a psychological effect is not only relevant to whether an EIS is required under NEPA, as Judge Wilkey concedes, Wilkey dissent at 242, but also to the cognizability of the impact under the statute. We need not attempt to draw a bright line in this case. Three Mile Island is, at least so far, the only event of its kind in the American experience. We cannot believe that the psychological aftermath of the March 1979 accident falls outside the broad scope of the National Environmental Policy Act. 2. Possible deterioration of the community PANE’S second contention alleges that the communities surrounding Three Mile Island would be severely damaged by the proposed restart of the TMI-1 facility because fears of nuclear accidents will diminish citizen confidence in local institutions, cause local businesses and residents to leave the area, and discourage potential newcomers who perceive the area as an undesirable location. JA 85-86. The Commission concedes that this contention presents a “classical ‘socio-economic’ issue.” Commission’s brief at 49. Social and economic effects, also described as “secondary impacts,” do not by themselves require preparation of an environmental impact statement. 40 C.F.R. § 1508.04 (1981) (mandatory Council on Environmental Quality regulations). However, when an environmental impact statement is prepared, it must discuss economic or social effects that are interrelated with other environmental effects. Id. Deterioration of a community’s economic base or social stability, as alleged in PANE’S second contention, is a cognizable “secondary impact” under NEPA. See, e.g., City of Rochester v. U. S. Postal Service, 541 F.2d 967, 973 (2d Cir. 1976) (danger of economic and physical deterioration in downtown area, urban decay and blight); Trinity Episcopal School Corp. v. Romney, 523 F.2d 88, 93-94 (2d Cir. 1975) (displacement and relocation of residents, decay and blight, implications for city growth policy and neighborhood stability). If NEPA requires the Commission to prepare a supplemental EIS regarding the TMI-1 restart decision because the agency makes a threshold finding of significant new information on psychological health effects, see Part II-C infra, PANE’S contentions regarding secondary effects on the community must be evaluated in the supplemental EIS. B. Applicability of NEPA to the TMI-1 Restart Decision PANE contends that the March 1979 accident at TMI-2 significantly changed the psychological and socio-economic effects of operating TMI-1. Therefore, PANE argues, the Commission must comply with NEPA before it decides whether to authorize restart of TMI-l’s operations. This assertion does not depend on the happenstance that TMI-1 was shut down for refueling at the time of the accident. PANE relies more generally on the continuing close supervision that the Commission exercises over nuclear power plants under the Atomic Energy Act. We agree with PANE that the extent of the Commission’s statutory responsibilities over licensed nuclear facilities creates a continuing obligation to comply with NEPA. The Commission’s brief contends that its pending decision on whether to allow resumption of operations at TMI-1 is not a “major federal action” within the National Environmental Policy Act and is therefore not subject to NEPA’s requirements. Conceding that the initial grant of an operating license requires preparation of an EIS, the brief asserts that, once a private activity such as a nuclear reactor has been licensed, federal involvement in its continuation is “limited and discontinuous” and therefore “lacks the elements of federal purpose and discretion generally associated with the requirement for impact statements.” Commission’s brief at 46. This position takes too narrow a view of the relevant federal activity. The “major federal action” in the case of TMI-1 is not solely the initial licensing decision, but the Commission’s continued exercise of supervisory responsibility over its operation and maintenance. The position argued in the Commission’s brief is inconsistent with binding regulations promulgated by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and with previous judicial decisions defining “major federal actions” for purposes of NEPA. The CEQ regulations, applicable to all federal agencies including the Commission, 40 C.F.R. § 1500.3 (1981), were expressly designed to establish uniform procedures for implementing NEPA and to eliminate inconsistent agency interpretations. 43 Fed.Reg. 55978 (1978); see Andrus v. Sierra Club, 442 U.S. 347, 356-357, 99 S.Ct. 2335, 2340-41, 60 L.Ed.2d 943 (1979). “Federal action,” under the regulations, encompasses “new and continuing activities, including projects and programs entirely or partly financed, assisted, conducted, regulated, or approved by federal agencies.” 40 C.F.R. § 1508.18(a) (1981). The Commission’s NEPA responsibilities did not come to an end when it prepared an initial EIS; the “continuing activity” of regulating TMI-1 is federal action within the scope of NEPA. The Commission has an ongoing responsibility to assure that nuclear power plants will operate without endangering the health and safety of the public. 42 U.S.C. §§ 2012(e), 2201(b), 2236 (1976). It maintains a resident inspector at each nuclear facility, see 10 C.F.R. § 50.-70(b) (1981), and operates a licensing program for nuclear power plant operators, see id. §§ 55.1-55.60. In the immediate aftermath of the nuclear accident at TMI-2 the Commission ordered Metropolitan Edison, the licensee, to keep TMI-1 in a cold shutdown condition pending further order by the Commission, and stated that a hearing would be held before the reactor would be authorized to resume operation. The order explains that the agency “presently lacks the requisite reasonable assurance that the same licensee’s Three Mile Island Unit No. 1 facility * * * can be operated without endangering the health and safety of the public,” 44 Fed.Reg. 40461 (1979), language that echoes the Atomic Energy Act. Pursuant to its July 1979 order, the Commission received written and oral testimony at an evidentia-ry hearing from witnesses presented by the licensee, the Commission’s staff, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and five inter-venors. Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, Partial Initial Decision (Procedural Background and Management Issues) at 12 (Aug. 27, 1981). The record of the proceeding covers more than 22,000 transcript pages. Memorandum on the Status of the Three Mile Island Unit 1 Restart Proceeding, filed by the Commission with this court on November 25, 1981. These regulatory activities fall squarely within the language of the CEQ regulation defining “federal action.” 40 C.F.R. § 1508.18(a) (1981) (quoted supra). Judicial decisions antedating the CEQ regulations defined “federal action” similarly in concrete factual contexts. The central issue in determining the applicability of NEPA to federally assisted or federally regulated projects was whether agency decisions were yet to be made, and whether decisions, “although already made, remained] open to revision.” Jones v. Lynn, All F.2d 885, 890 (1st Cir. 1973). In Jones v. Lynn the basic loan and capital grant contract for an urban renewal project had been executed before NEPA entered into effect, but the court held that NEPA procedures must be followed as long as the federal agency “remains meaningfully involved in a project” and has “retained any significant discretionary powers.” Id. at 889-890 (remanding for findings by District Court). In WATCH (Waterbury Action to Conserve Our Heritage Inc.) v. Harris, 603 F.2d 310, 317-318 (2d Cir.), cert, denied, AAA U.S. 995, 100 S.Ct. 530, 62 L.Ed.2d 426 (1979), the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development had authorized demolition of buildings within a specified urban renewal area but retained power to veto specific actions by local authorities. When HUD received new information about the potential historic value of structures within the demolition area, it imposed a temporary freeze on further acquisitions and demolitions, gathered some data about the structures, and then authorized demolition to continue. A local organization sought judicial review of the agency’s failure to follow NEPA procedures before deciding whether to continue with the demolition project. The Second Circuit, recognizing that HUD retained “significant control over the project,” and that the agency had recognized its continuing responsibility by imposing a freeze, held that HUD was required to comply with NEPA. 603 F.2d at 318, 326. The Commission’s brief cannot convincingly distinguish these precedents by asserting that, unlike this case, they involved “a more or less continuing agency decision to sustain an ongoing program that the agency has discretion to terminate at any time.” Commission’s brief at 46. The Commission’s regulatory responsibilities with regard to TMI — 1 and other nuclear reactors place it in an analogous position; therefore, it must continue to comply with NEPA’s requirements. C. The Commission’s Responsibilities Under NEPA If the agency’s “continuing activities” are within the scope of NEPA, the CEQ regulations require it to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement in two situations: (1) if the agency makes substantial changes in the proposed action that are relevant to environmental concerns, or (2) if there are significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns and bearing on the proposed action or its impacts. 40 C.F.R. § 1502.9(c)(1) (1981). Supplemental impact statements shall be prepared, circulated, and filed in the same fashion as draft or final environmental impact statements. Id. § 1502.-9(c)(4). These regulations implement the broad purpose of NEPA: to require the federal government to assume “continuing responsibility” to promote environmental values. See 42 U.S.C. § 4331(b) (1976). NEPA itself does not expressly provide for supplemental impact statements, but the Supreme Court has declared that the CEQ implementing regulations are “entitled to substantial deference” as an interpretation of NEPA. Andrus v. Sierra Club, supra, 442 U.S. at 358, 99 S.Ct. at 2341. In this case PANE contends that the accident at TMI-2 in March 1979 was a “significant new circumstance” that dramatically altered the environmental effects of operating TMI-1. It cites not only the CEQ regulations, but earlier judicial decisions that required preparation of a supplemental EIS to take changed circumstances and new information into account. In Essex County Preservation Ass’n v. Campbell, 536 F.2d 956, 961 (1st Cir. 1981), relying on federal highway regulations, the court required a supplemental EIS for a proposed highway project after a state moratorium on widening of a feeder highway reduced the potential flow of traffic to the proposed highway segment. In several District Court cases, discovery of archeological sites within an affected area has been held to require a supplemental EIS. Libby Rod & Gun Club v. Poteat, 457 F.Supp. 1177, 1188-1189 (D.Mont.1978) (Army Corps of Engineers dam project); Aluli v. Brown, 437 F.Supp. 602, 606 (D.Hawaii 1977), rev’d in part on different issue, 602 F.2d 876 (9th Cir. 1979) (Navy bombing practice on Hawaiian island); Nelson v. Butz, 377 F.Supp. 819, 822 (D.Minn.1974) (proposed flooding of area by dam construction). At this stage, PANE’S allegations of psychological health effects and community deterioration do not justify an order to the Commission to prepare a supplemental EIS. It is well established that, under NEPA, the agency in charge of a proposed federal action is authorized to make the threshold determination of whether an EIS is required. See WATCH v. Harris, supra, 603 F.2d at 317 — 318, 326; Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Ass’n v. ICC, 567 F.2d 994, 1004 (D.C.Cir.1977); Hanly v. Kleindienst, supra, 471 F.2d at 828. In this case, however, the Commission staff did not consider psychological health effects in its environmental impact appraisal, JA 272-316, nor did it receive any evidence in support of PANE’S contentions. When the Commissioners excluded psychological stress from the TMI-1 restart proceeding, none of the four separate opinions specifically addressed NEPA’s requirements for issuance of a supplemental EIS, nor did any Commissioner evaluate any of the existing studies regarding psychological and community effects. See 12 NRC at 609-626, JA 3-20. Under the circumstances, we remand the record to the Commission to determine whether to prepare a supplemental EIS. If the agency finds significant new circumstances or information on psychological health effects, the CEQ regulations require it to prepare a supplemental EIS regarding both psychological health effects and secondary impacts on the well-being of surrounding communities. 40 C.F.R. § 1502.-9(c)(1) (1981). On the other hand, if the agency finds that the circumstances or information are not new, or not significant, it need not prepare a supplemental EIS. The agency’s determination, if appealed, will be upheld as long as it is reasonable — the same standard of judicial review that we apply to an agency’s determination not to issue an EIS in the first instance. See Izaak Walton League of America v. Marsh, 655 F.2d 346, 371 (D.C.Cir.1981) (“rule of reason” in reviewing compliance with NEPA); cf. Environmental Defense Fund v. Marsh, 651 F.2d 983, 991-992 (5th Cir. 1981) (same standard for review of agency decision not to issue EIS or decision not to issue supplemental EIS); Monarch Chemical Works, Inc. v. Thone, 604 F.2d 1083, 1087 (8th Cir. 1979) (same). We agree with the Ninth Circuit’s recent discussion of the respective roles of agencies and courts and the “rule of reason” as applied to an agency’s decision not to issue a supplemental EIS: When new information comes to light the agency must consider it, evaluate it, and make a reasoned determination whether it is of such significance as to require implementation of formal NEPA filing procedures. Reasonableness depends on such factors as the environmental significance of the new information, the probable accuracy of the information, the degree of care with which the agency considered the information and evaluated its impact, and the degree to which the agency supported its decision not to supplement with a statement of explanation or additional data. Warm Springs Dam Task Force v. Gribble, 621 F.2d 1017, 1024 (9th Cir. 1980). Until a federal agency has fulfilled its obligations under NEPA, it should generally not proceed with its ultimate decision on whether to proceed with a proposed action. NEPA procedures are designed to ensure that environmental information is available to public officials and citizens before decisions are made, so that environmental considerations are part of the agency’s deci-sionmaking process. See Weinberger v. Catholic Action of Hawaii/Peace Education Project,-U.S.-,-, 102 S.Ct. 197, 200-03, 70 L.Ed.2d 298 (1981); Realty Income Trust v. Eckerd, 564 F.2d 447, 456 (D.C.Cir.1977); 40 C.F.R. §§ 1500.1(b), 1502.2(g) (1981). Under appropriate circumstances, federal courts will grant in-junctive relief to preserve the status quo until the requirements of NEPA have been satisfied. See Realty Income Trust v. Eck-erd, supra, 564 F.2d at 456-457. In this case the court issued an order on January 7, 1982 that the Commission not make a decision to restart TMI-1 until it had complied with its obligations under NEPA. Subsequently, however, operating officials at Three Mile Island announced that leaks and corrosion in thousands of steam generator tubes in TMI-1 would probably delay the restart for six to twelve months. See Corrosion Leads To More Delays At 3 Mile Island, New York Times, February 11,1982, A18, at col. 1. Recognizing that injunctive relief was no longer necessary to preserve the status quo, the court on April 2, 1982 issued an amended judgment lifting the injunction. The amended judgment, which remains in effect, requires the Commission to give 30 days’ notice to this court and to petitioner if the Commission intends to make a decision on restarting TMI-1 before complying with its obligations under NEPA. When such notice is given, it will be time enough for this court to decide whether an injunction should issue to enforce the mandate of the National Environmental Policy Act. In the wake of the most publicized nuclear accident of our time, the people of the Three Mile Island area — and the people of the nation as a whole — are entitled to the protections Congress provided in the National Environmental Policy Act. The government must not proceed to make decisions that might have a momentous effect on the psychological health and community well-being of its citizens without first giving careful, responsible consideration to the consequences its actions might have. By enacting NEPA Congress meant to assure that no federal decision — especially one of this importance — would be made in the shadow of environmental ignorance. III. CONCLUSION We have concluded that psychological health is cognizable under NEPA and that the Commission’s statutory responsibilities over licensed nuclear facilities create a continuing obligation to comply with the requirements of the statute. We therefore remand the record in this case to the Commission for study of potential psychological health effects and for a decision whether a supplemental EIS is necessary. So ordered. AMENDED JUDGMENT PER CURIAM. This cause came on to be heard on a petition for review of an order of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and was briefed and argued by counsel. A judgment was issued on January 7, 1982, Judge Wilkey dissenting. In light of changed circumstances and further consideration, this court has decided to modify its order to the Commission. On consideration thereof, It is ORDERED and ADJUDGED by this court that, for the reasons stated in the opinion for the court issued this day, the record in this case is remanded to the Commission for a determination whether, since the preparation of the original environmental impact statement for the nuclear facility at Three Mile Island Unit 1 (TMI-1), significant new circumstances or information have arisen with respect to the potential psychological health effects of operating the TMI-1 facility. The Commission may choose the procedures by which it makes this determination. If the Commission finds that such significant circumstances or information exist, it shall prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement which considers not only effects on psychological health but also effects on the well-being of the communities surrounding Three Mile Island. It is FURTHER ORDERED and ADJUDGED by this court that, in light of the current operating difficulties at TMI-1, it is no longer necessary to preserve the status quo to enjoin the Commission from deciding to restart TMI-1 until it has complied with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The injunction granted on January 7,1982 is hereby vacated. If subsequently the Commission intends to make a final decision regarding the restart of TMI-1 prior to complying with its obligations under NEPA, it shall provide the court and the petitioner with 30 days’ notice thereof. Circuit Judge WILKEY dissents for the reasons stated in his dissenting opinion filed this day. WILKEY, Circuit Judge: This opinion has two distinct parts. Part I is my dissent from my two colleagues’ decision on the applicability of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to this case. Part II has been joined by Judge McGowan, and represents the opinion of the court on the applicability of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) to this case. The net result is that the court holds that NEPA requires consideration of alleged psychological health effects, while the AEA does not. This may have the appearance of a split decision, but the reality is otherwise. The critical issue is NEPA, and the court’s determination produces an extraordinary result. Judge Wright and Judge McGowan hold that in the proceedings on the restart of Three Mile Island Unit 1 (TMI-1), which was not involved in the accident at Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) must consider “the potential psychological health effects of renewed operation of TMI-1.” This requires consideration of an “impact” on health — psychological stress — which has never before been held cognizable under NEPA. A similar decision under the AEA would have compounded the problem, but the NEPA decision today suffices to give petitioner People Against Nuclear Energy (PANE) essentially what it has sought: a court-imposed paralysis of nuclear power at Three Mile Island, and potentially elsewhere as well. Thus although I am pleased that my view on the AEA issue has prevailed, I have no illusion that I am anything other than the chief dissenter in this case. It is worth noting, and perhaps taking solace in, the majority’s partial retreat from the judgment it so hastily issued on 7 January 1982. The injunction against TMI-l’s restart has been lifted, and, in addition, the majority has corrected two clear errors of NEPA law contained in its original judgment. Unfortunately, the basic error remains, The extension of NEPA to encompass psychological stress is unwarranted, unprecedented, and inconsistent with relevant decisions in this and other circuits. This novel hurdle, well designed to delay the development of nuclear power (contrary to the national policy determined by Congress and the Executive), is thoroughly consistent with this court’s track record of using NEPA to delay the development of important energy sources. I dissent. I. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT A. Cognizability of Psychological Stress Under NEPA 1. Meaning of “health” in NEPA There is no question that NEPA’s requirements extend to effects on human health. Two of the Act’s goals are to “assure for all Americans safe, healthful, productive, and esthetically and culturally pleasing surroundings,” and to “attain the widest range of beneficial uses of the environment without degradation, risk to health or safety, or other undesirable and unintended consequences.” What is in question, of course, is what Congress intended by its inclusion of health as a concern. Amazingly, the majority does not find this even to be a hard question. It holds “that, in the context of NEPA, health encompasses psychological health,” a conclusion that rests on “the simple fact that effects on psychological health are effects on the health of human beings.” Since petitioner PANE alleges that the restart of TMI-1 would cause “severe psychological distress” to nearby residents, the majority orders the NRC to consider this allegation under NEPA. This holding is entirely novel, and indeed is contrary to the most closely analogous precedents. In my view it extends the reach of NEPA far beyond its intended scope. Judge Wright’s opinion cites several cases holding that agencies must prepare an EIS when there is a potential effect on human health. What the opinion does not acknowledge is that in each of these cases the effect on health was caused by the federal action itself, not by individuals’ fears of the federal action. Use of toxic herbicides has a potential for damaging human health, and consideration must therefore be given to these potential effects. An allegedly inadequate water run-off system may lead to flooding which endangers human health, so this possibility must be considered. In the same way, operation of a nuclear power plant may cause harm to human health — for example, due to the potential for exposure to radiation — and the NRC must therefore prepare an EIS and consider these potential harms before licensing the plant. In this case, however, the NRC already has prepared a full EIS on TMI-1, as well as an environmental appraisal relating to restart, to facilitate decisionmaking and minimize the damage that could result from the plant’s operation. This undertaking is what NEPA clearly contemplates. PANE’S contention, however, is not that operation of TMI-1 will affect human health because of the dangers inherent in operation of a nuclear facility, but that individuals’ fears of an accident at the plant, combined with their lack of confidence in the NRC, will lead to an extension of the psychological stress allegedly caused by the TMI-2 accident. It is patently obvious that this alleged effect is entirely different from those health effects at issue in any NEPA case relied on by the majority. Instead of being required to assess the risk of a proposed activity in determining whether the activity should go forward, the agency is now required to assess how people perceive and react to the risk. PANE’S primary purpose is to force the agency to determine whether people so fear renewed operation of TMI-1 that it should not go forward, even if the agency’s assessment of the actual risk indicates that the impact on health will not be significant. This takes NEPA far beyond its intended purpose. The environmental effects of a federal activity are now to include the views of the population itself on the very desirability of the activity, as expressed through the alleged psychological distress people may suffer if the activity goes forward — no matter how scientifically ignorant and divorced from reality those views (fears) may be. In my view this is a judgment for Congress, and one which has already been made in the case of nuclear power. “Nuclear energy may some day be a cheap, safe source of power or it may not. But Congress has made a choice to at least try nuclear energy ....” To adopt the majority view would be to let any special interest group effectively repeal an act of Congress if it could whip up sufficient hysteria. 2. Case law on psychological factors under NEPA Many federal courts have agreed that individuals’ psychological reactions to a federal action are not properly considered under NEPA. For example, the Second Circuit has declared: “It is doubtful whether psychological and sociological effects upon neighbors constitute the type of factors that may be considered in making such a determination since they do not lend themselves to measurement.” Similarly, the Seventh Circuit has stated: “To the extent that this claim can be construed to mean that HUD must consider the fears of the neighbors of prospective public housing tenants, we seriously question whether such an impact is cognizable under NEPA.” Many other courts have agreed, and these cases represent a clear consensus against consideration of psychological factors. The majority tries simply to cite and then dismiss these cases as irrelevant, but their force cannot be ignored. They are based largely on the fact that psychological concerns are simply too far removed from the purpose of NEPA, which is to ensure that an agency considers the environmental effects of a decision, not the reactions of affected individuals to the risk of those environmental effects. They also rest on the inherent difficulties in attempting to measure and incorporate into the environmental analysis the differing psychological states of the affected persons. The majority blithely dismisses this quantification problem as irrelevant, thus ignoring Judge Leventhal’s observation that although measurement difficulties do not necessarily prevent consideration under NEPA, they do “have a bearing on the intention of Congress, and whether it contemplated ... a requirement of a detailed [EIS].” In this case petitioner makes much of the practice of courts in measuring psychological injury. This is of dubious validity given that the assignment of monetary damages for purposes of liability is different from the measurements involved here. Far more important, however, is that the issue before the NRC will be not how much damage was caused by the TMI — 2 accident, but how much additional damage will result from TMI-l’s restart. This issue is particularly ephemeral and speculative since it is not subject to measurement at all. Instead, the Commission will be forced to predict how every individual in the TMI area will react to the restart. Moreover, to the extent the Commission is supposed to devise techniques to alleviate the stress, it will need to guess at how much benefit will accrue from, say, warning system X as compared to warning system Y. To attempt to assess the effect of TMI-l’s operation on the psychological condition of area residents will, in my view, demonstrate the truth in the Second Circuit’s finding that “psychological factors are not readily translatable into concrete measuring rods.” I do not believe that Congress intended NEPA to encompass an effect which not only varies from individual to individual, but which is also entirely subjective. All the other federal courts which have considered this issue agree. The majority obviously recognizes that these NEPA decisions are far more relevant than any others to this case. It attempts to distinguish them, however, by asserting that they deal with “sociologically based community anxieties” and “mere dissatis-factions arising from social opinions, economic concerns, or political disagreements with agency policies,” which supposedly are easily distinguishable from the potential “medically-recognized impairment of the psychological health of neighboring residents” of TMI. This purported distinction is destroyed by the majority’s own finding that it is a “simple fact that effects on psychological health are effects on the health of human beings.” The assertion that mere “anxieties” about nearby matters other than nuclear power are not effects on psychological health is entirely unsupported and, I submit, obviously unsupportable. It is a callous assumption indeed to believe that persons living close to a prison or in a high-crime area cannot suffer very real psychological harm from fear of physical violence — and highly illogical, also, since the casualty total from crime is a gruesome, proven fact, while the casualty total from nuclear accidents so far, fortunately, remains at zero. The majority’s decision to ignore these many cases seems based ultimately on nothing more than a political determination that fears that federal actions will “change the character of the neighborhood, reduce property values, and increase the dangers of crime” are simply not worthy of consideration. Fears of nuclear power, on the other hand, must be considered, presumably because the majority considers them legitimate. In each case, however, what we are dealing with are fears and anxieties; if NEPA embraces fears and anxieties in one, it must in all. In response, the majority declares that it is not attempting to extend NEPA to “mere anxieties,” because this case involves “post-traumatic anxieties, accompanied by physical effects and caused by fears of recurring catastrophe.” Yet this very passage frames the harm precisely in terms of anxiety and fear. All that it adds are the alleged physical effects accompanying psychological stress. Why physical effects should be determinative of the outcome the majority does not say. If this is critical, then petitioner surely must fail; the physical harms alleged are, standing alone, rather minor. Moreover, I see no basis, as either a legal or scientific matter, for drawing the majority’s distinction. I am confident that psychologists would not accept the view that psychological stress unaccompanied by physical symptoms is therefore medically unrecognizable or necessarily much less severe than stress that does have related physical effects. Moreover, the majority’s emphasis on the notion that “post-traumatic” psychological harm is recognized by the medical profession is unconvincing. Surely “post-traumatic” stress is but one of numerous forms of psychological stress that are “medically recognizable.” There is no legal or logical justification for interpreting NEPA’s “health” coverage to extend only to such stress as may arise from a traumatic event. The majority seems to rely on PANE’S allegation of severe psychological stress, as well as its own view that this accident was especially “unique and traumatic.” But the fact that post-traumatic stress may be more severe than other psychological harms is irrelevant to whether psychological harms are cognizable under NEPA. The severity of an effect is relevant to the “significance” it has under NEPA, and thus to whether an EIS must be prepared. Before this inquiry need be undertaken, however, there is the preliminary question at issue here: is the alleged effect cognizable at all under NEPA as a “primary impact” which may require an EIS? This inquiry does not depend on the intensity of a particular effect. This point is disputed by the majority: “[T]he severity of a psychological effect is not only relevant to whether an EIS is required under NEPA, ... but also to the cognizability of the impact under the statute.” Why is this so? No answer is given. The majority simply asserts that some psychological effects are worse than others, and therefore the former are cognizable while the latter are not. But this is not true of any other type of health effect, and there is utterly no support in NEPA for this distinction. The majority has simply set itself up as the arbiter of what harms are severe enough to deserve NEPA protection. Thus what constitutes a “real” and “justifiable” fear, as opposed to what constitutes only a “social” or “economic” or “political” fear, will be determined by the courts. And the choice itself will be totally arbitrary: NEPA protection will depend less on how much psychological harm the individual suffers, than on whether the judges of this court believe the source of the psychological harm is acceptable. If one fears living near a prison following a violent escape, NEPA might provide no protection because fear of a public project is merely social; if one fears living near a nuclear power plant following an accident which threatened to cause harm, NEPA will provide protection because, as we all know, nuclear power is potentially dangerous and we should all fear it. 3. Implications of the majority’s reasoning for nuclear power The majority’s attempt to base its decision on the singularity of the TMI-2 accident, and thus perhaps to avoid the implications of the logic employed, also fails to explain why all nuclear power licensing decisions in the future will not need to include consideration of psychological stress. One key factor the majority sees in distinguishing this case from the “sociological anxiety” cases is that none of those eases involved “the holocaust potential of an errant nuclear reactor.” But this rationale obviously applies to all nuclear facilities, and licensing is their sine qua non. More generally, the court’s emphasis on the “major” and “unique and traumatic” nature of the TMI-2 accident does not explain why the type of psychological harm resulting from this accident is cognizable under NEPA while other forms of psychological stress associated with nuclear energy might not be. This accident killed no one and caused no detectable physical harm. Thus the “unique and traumatic” circumstances must be found elsewhere, perhaps in the fact that the TMI-2 accident “aroused fears of a nuclear core meltdown and led to mass evacuation from the surrounding communities.” Both factors might exist, however, even where an accident objectively is not a “major” one at all. Indeed, even in this case it is clear that some of the dangers were greatly exaggerated; most of the evacuation that took plaee was voluntary rather than officially requested or ordered. To the extent any consistent standard can be derived from the majority’s analysis, what appears is a standard which will depend largely on how much fear is worked up, from whatever source, rather than how serious the danger actually is. In any event, the majority fails even to try to explain why fears resulting from lesser accidents, or simply from the operation of nuclear facilities, do not also engender psychological stress in individuals. The susceptibility of individuals to psychological stress may vary widely. There may be a considerable number of persons who suffered more stress from having read about TMI — 2’s accident than some persons who were in the area at the time. A traumatic event is not a prerequisite to experiencing psychological health problems. And what constitutes a “traumatic” event may differ greatly among individuals. The mere sound of a warning siren at a nuclear plant may cause a great deal of stress to certain individuals,