Tag Archives: Council on Environmental Quality

CEQ Finalizes Phase I NEPA Regulations: Undoing Trump’s Regulations Is One Thing; Modernizing NEPA Is Another

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 so closely tracks the proposal, I won’t repeat the analysis that I already provided regarding these changes. 

I will briefly repeat my concern that Phase II of the NEPA regulations is going to be very important. … More

How To Straighten the Long and Winding Road that We Call NEPA

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 emphasis on consideration of cumulative impacts
  • elimination of the requirement that there be “a reasonably close causal relationship” between a proposed action and a potential impact,…
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CEQ Issues Guidance For Streamlining NEPA Reviews: Can You Say “Content-Free”?

The Council on Environmental Quality has released it guidance on “Improving the Process for Preparing Efficient and Timely Environmental Reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act.” As far as I can tell, the guidance provides literally nothing on improving the process. It is instead a compendium of how wonderful the process already is in allowing and encouraging appropriate flexibility in complying with NEPA. I’m not sold.

In fairness,… More

Concerns About NEPA and the Stimulus: CEQ Is Here to Help

As we noted previously, in the face of efforts to include language in the stimulus bill exempting stimulus projects from the requirements of NEPA, Senator Boxer proposed what you can describe either as a compromise or a fig leaf. Section 1609 of the bill provides that NEPA reviews will be expedited and resources will be devoted to facilitate such expedited reviews. According to the Environmental Reporter today, CEQ is going to be providing guidance to federal agencies on how to conduct such expedited reviews.… More