By: Andrew Der, CEP
As things continue to change in real time, it’s difficult to make any concrete predictions about future implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). For now, the main takeaway is that even though NEPA implementation is changing again, analyses should move forward generically as before.
Interim final rules rescind Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA implementing regulations, but not the 1969 Act itself (amended in 2023). This leaves some uncertainty about the specific procedures, so federal agencies are still required to comply with NEPA. If the agencies have their own implementing regulations – which most do – then by default, they will need to follow those until decreed otherwise. NEPA will continue to be triggered when there is a federal nexus.
While new regulations are developed, CEQ guidance now requires that agencies “continue to follow their existing practices and procedures for implementing NEPA consistent with the text of NEPA, E.O. 14154, and [CEQ] guidance. Agencies should not delay pending or ongoing NEPA analyses while undertaking these revisions.”
Stay tuned for future updates as new information becomes available!