White House Takes Steps to Restore Essential Environmental Review Rules, According to Reuters

By Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON – The White House has initiated steps to reinstate federal regulations that guide environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects, including highways and pipelines, which were previously relaxed under the Trump administration in an effort to expedite these developments.

The White House Council for Environmental Quality announced its intention to restore essential provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations that had been in place prior to the Trump administration’s significant overhaul of the rules last year, marking the first such change in decades.

The proposed new rule from the council mandates that federal agencies take into account climate change and other indirect environmental impacts of proposed projects. It also encourages agencies to consider alternative designs or approaches and allows them to adopt reviews that exceed the council’s regulations.

Brenda Mallory, chair of the council, stated, “The basic community safeguards we are proposing to restore would help ensure that American infrastructure gets built right the first time,” adding that the revisions could help “reduce conflict and litigation” in the environmental review process.

Former President Donald Trump’s 2020 changes to NEPA aimed to expedite significant projects, such as the now-cancelled Keystone XL oil pipeline, which he claimed were hindered by bureaucracy and counterproductive to his goal of enhancing U.S. energy independence.

The Trump administration’s revisions permitted federal agencies to overlook climate impacts when assessing projects, facilitating the approval of large fossil fuel initiatives while bypassing potential legal challenges. Additionally, these changes expanded the types of projects that could be excluded from NEPA assessments altogether.

In recent years, federal courts have ruled that NEPA requires the federal government to consider the carbon footprint of a project when making decisions about leasing public lands for drilling or pipeline construction.

Senator Tom Carper, chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, remarked that the council’s actions come at a critical juncture as the White House and Congress work toward passing significant infrastructure legislation, potentially leading to an influx of new projects. He stated, “At a time when we are on the precipice of passing a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure, the changes proposed today will improve certainty to avoid project slowdowns and litigation.”

Environmental advocates indicated their intention to collaborate with the White House council to ensure that NEPA reviews incorporate the perspectives of communities impacted by major infrastructure projects. Mustafa Santiago Ali, Vice President of Environmental Justice at the National Wildlife Federation, expressed anticipation for working with the Biden administration to ensure the new rule emphasizes the input of frontline and historically marginalized communities while restoring NEPA’s essential protections.

In the upcoming months, the council will refine its NEPA regulatory changes, focusing on how local communities can participate in the environmental review process and consider the impacts of climate change.