Regulatory Alert: White House Signals Future Changes to NEPA Regulations
June 29, 2021
Today the White House's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) extended the deadline by two years for federal agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to develop or update their guidance for implementing provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This is the first major step that CEQ, under its new leadership, has taken to roll back certain reforms to the NEPA environmental review process that were made and finalized last year. In the rule released today, CEQ also indicated that it will be initiating further rulemaking in the future to propose amendments to NEPA regulations. Those changes are expected to focus in part on advancing climate change and environmental justice objectives that have been set by the new administration. 
2020 NEPA Modernization. In July 2020, CEQ finalized a rule that comprehensively rewrote NEPA regulations with the goal of accelerating the approval of infrastructure project reviews. The rule, which went into effect in September 2020, established presumptive time limits for the preparation of environmental review documents; improved coordination of NEPA reviews involving multiple agencies; clarified the applicability and scope of NEPA reviews; modernized the process for engaging with the public; and made several changes regarding the level of review required by NEPA. The changes required FAA and other federal agencies to update their NEPA implementation procedures by September 2021. 
Review of NEPA Regulations and Future Rulemakings. When President Biden came into office in January, he signed an executive order that directed his administration to ensure that federal permitting decisions consider the effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change. In today's interim final rule, CEQ indicated that they are extending the deadline for federal agencies to update their NEPA implementing guidance to avoid wasting agency resources. Specifically, CEQ is conducting an in-depth review of the 2020 NEPA final rule and intends to initiate further rulemaking projects to ensure that NEPA regulations meet the objectives of the executive order, as well as other administration goals such as environmental justice. 
What's Next? According to the administration's recently released unified agenda, CEQ indicated it is planning to revise NEPA regulatory requirements in two phases. The first proposed rulemaking is expected to change a 'narrow' set of NEPA requirements and could be released this summer. The second proposed rulemaking would propose broader changes to the NEPA review process and is projected to be released for public comment by the end of this year. AAAE will continue to be engaged on this critical issue to ensure airports are not experiencing delayed, burdensome, or unwieldy NEPA environmental reviews. 
Today the White House's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) extended the deadline by two years for federal agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to develop or update their guidance for implementing provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This is the first major step that CEQ, under its new leadership, has taken to roll back certain reforms to the NEPA environmental review process that were made and finalized last year. In the rule released today, CEQ also indicated that it will be initiating further rulemaking in the future to propose amendments to NEPA regulations. Those changes are expected to focus in part on advancing climate change and environmental justice objectives that have been set by the new administration. 
2020 NEPA Modernization. In July 2020, CEQ finalized a rule that comprehensively rewrote NEPA regulations with the goal of accelerating the approval of infrastructure project reviews. The rule, which went into effect in September 2020, established presumptive time limits for the preparation of environmental review documents; improved coordination of NEPA reviews involving multiple agencies; clarified the applicability and scope of NEPA reviews; modernized the process for engaging with the public; and made several changes regarding the level of review required by NEPA. The changes required FAA and other federal agencies to update their NEPA implementation procedures by September 2021. 
Review of NEPA Regulations and Future Rulemakings. When President Biden came into office in January, he signed an executive order that directed his administration to ensure that federal permitting decisions consider the effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change. In today's interim final rule, CEQ indicated that they are extending the deadline for federal agencies to update their NEPA implementing guidance to avoid wasting agency resources. Specifically, CEQ is conducting an in-depth review of the 2020 NEPA final rule and intends to initiate further rulemaking projects to ensure that NEPA regulations meet the objectives of the executive order, as well as other administration goals such as environmental justice. 
What's Next? According to the administration's recently released unified agenda, CEQ indicated it is planning to revise NEPA regulatory requirements in two phases. The first proposed rulemaking is expected to change a 'narrow' set of NEPA requirements and could be released this summer. The second proposed rulemaking would propose broader changes to the NEPA review process and is projected to be released for public comment by the end of this year. AAAE will continue to be engaged on this critical issue to ensure airports are not experiencing delayed, burdensome, or unwieldy NEPA environmental reviews. 
 
