On-Demand Webinar | The New NEPA Regulations: A Practical Guide to What You Need to Know
Twenty Attorneys General (including Arkansas) filed a judicial challenge on May 21st in the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota to the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) rule styled: ...more
Introduction On May 1, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) published its Final Rule implementing revisions to the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”)—better known as Phase 2 (the “Final Rule”)....more
In Citizens for Clean Air & Clean Water in Brazoria County et al v. United States Department of Transportation et al., several environmental groups challenged the DOT’s approval of a license for commercial construction and...more
Based on immediate reactions to the long-awaited final "Phase II" NEPA regulations, one might think that the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) substantially altered long-standing federal environmental review practice....more
On May 1, 2024, the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) promulgated the Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule (“Final Rule”), 89 Fed. Reg. 35,442 (May 1, 2024), which is better known as Phase 2 of the Biden...more
On August 10, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposed to substantially revise regulations aimed at accelerating the Federal environmental review and permitting processes associated with the development of onshore...more
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was signed into law on January 1, 1970, and it has rarely been amended or revised since then. NEPA is basically a procedural statute which requires Federal permitting authorities,...more
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) anticipates releasing the Draft Designation Documents for the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. A draft proposed rule and management plan for...more
On June 3, 2023, President Biden signed the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (“FRA”) into law, extending the U.S. debt limit into 2025. As part of the Congressional deal, FRA also contains amendments to the National...more
On June 3, 2023, President Biden signed into law the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (“the Act”), which includes modest changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), among other things. The Act amends NEPA in...more
Hiding in plain sight in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA)--which is intended to extend the nation’s debt limit into 2025 in order to avoid a federal default--are provisions that seek to amend the National...more
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) recently issued interim “National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions and Climate Change” (the “Interim Guidance”) to assist...more
On April 20, 2022, the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) published a final rule revising the primary regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). The final rule largely restored provisions...more
First, the Commission voted to not conduct a formal rulemaking on the NRC’s current environmental review process under 10 CFR Part 51. Separately, the staff proposed alternative timelines for a rulemaking to revise the...more
On April 19, 2022, the Biden administration finalized a new rule (“Final Rule”) rolling back the Trump administration’s 2020 changes limiting the scope of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Final Rule...more
What Changed, What Matters for Local Governments and What’s Next - The White House Council on Environmental Quality has reversed three key Trump administration changes that govern how federal agencies implement the...more
Earlier this week, the Council on Environmental Quality promulgated its Phase I rule amending the NEPA regulations. The final rule largely implements the proposed rule, though with some minor changes. Since the final rule...more
On April 20, 2022, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published a final rule rolling back minor regulatory changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process that it had promulgated in...more
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) today published its final rule to amend three provisions of its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. The amendments largely are the same as the changes...more
This post is part of an ongoing series covering the Biden administration’s efforts pursuant to Executive Order 13990 to repeal and replace regulations adopted during the Trump administration. ...more
Late last month, the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) issued Instruction Memorandum 2021-046 to reinstate both BLM Manual Section (MS-1794) and BLM Handbook (H-1794-1), which restore previously rescinded BLM policies on...more
The procedures associated with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), particularly Environmental Impact Statements (EISs), are undergoing change. On one hand, the Executive Branch under the Biden administration,...more
On October 6, 2021, The White House set forward a proposal that would effectively undo the 2020 Regulations, which were promulgated in response to the Trump Administration’s EO 13807 and represented the first major revision...more
So CEQ has proposed to amend the NEPA regulations in order to eliminate some of the changes made by the Trump Administration in 2020. Important changes include: • explicit consideration of indirect impacts • renewed...more
The Biden Administration’s “whole of government” approach to advancing environmental justice (EJ) continues apace, with agencies and courts pursuing focused enforcement and environmental review strategies that could affect...more