On-Demand Webinar | The New NEPA Regulations: A Practical Guide to What You Need to Know
Addressing Environmental Issues in Real Estate Development
David Bowie’s hit song "Space Oddity," about the fictional astronaut Major Tom, was released as a single in 1969. Environmental impact statements (EIS) for rocket launches in the US were not required at that time. Rocket...more
The Trump administration came into office in 2025 promising to speed federal environmental permitting by, among other things, streamlining compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In the whirlwind of the...more
The past month brought a flurry of updates from federal agencies publishing new procedures to implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), following President Trump’s Executive Order 14154 (EO 14154) in January...more
The budget reconciliation bill signed into law on July 4 (also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill”) adds a new provision to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that allows project sponsors/applicants to pay for...more
In a significant ruling, the D.C. Circuit in Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Administration held that the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) lacks the statutory authority to issue binding regulations under the...more
On May 1, 2024, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) finalized a rule to undo most of the remaining 2020 Trump Administration changes to the federal environmental review process under the National...more
As part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (also known as the debt ceiling bill) in June 2023, Congress made the most significant revisions to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) since the statute was enacted in 1970....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
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
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 Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 most notably raised the debt ceiling. But the legislation also made substantive changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), with an eye toward simplifying and streamlining...more
On January 9, 2023, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published new interim guidance intended to assist federal agencies in analyzing greenhouse gas (GHG) and climate change effects of project proposals...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
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 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
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 secretary of the interior issued two Secretarial Orders on April 16, 2021, that provide early indications of the Biden administration’s approach to the environmental review process for infrastructure projects under the...more
In September 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality enacted new regulations that set forth procedures federal agencies are to utilize when implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Numerous commentaries...more
The U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed comprehensive changes to update its procedures under the National Environmental Policy Act in response to the Council on Environmental Quality’s July 16, 2020, overhaul of...more
This is the final in our series of eAlerts on revisions to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations published in the Federal Register on July 16, 2020 by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) (“Final Rule”)....more
This is the eighth in a series of eAlerts on revisions to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations published in the Federal Register on July 16, 2020 by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The CEQ’s...more
This is the seventh in a series of eAlerts on revisions to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations published in the Federal Register on July 16, 2020 by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). CEQ’s revised...more
This is the sixth in a series of eAlerts on revisions to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations published in the Federal Register on July 16, 2020, by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The CEQ’s...more