<P> NEPA grew out of the increased public appreciation and concern for the environment that developed during the during the 1960s , amid increased industrialization , urban and suburban growth , and pollution across the United States . During this time , environmental interest group efforts and the growing public awareness resulting from Rachel Carson 's 1962 book , Silent Spring , led to support for the 1964 Wilderness Act and subsequent legislation ( including the 1970 Clean Air Act and 1972 Clean Water Act ) . The public outrage in reaction to the Santa Barbara oil spill in early 1969 occurred just as the NEPA legislation was being drafted in Congress . Another major driver for enacting NEPA were the 1960s highway revolts , a series of protests in many American cities that occurred in response to the bulldozing of many communities and ecosystems during the construction of the Interstate Highway System . </P>
what event most affected the passage of the national environmental protection act of 1969
the Santa Barbara oil spill