The Nickel Report

The Trump Administration is initiating major changes to reduce NEPA burdens, including an interim final rule to repeal the longstanding White House Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA regulations and CEQ guidance directing federal agencies to update their agency-specific NEPA regulations and procedures to prioritize efficiency and certainty. These actions implement directives from the President’s Executive Order (EO) 14154, Unleashing American Energy, to expedite and simplify the federal permitting process to unleash energy dominance through efficient federal permitting.  These changes may lead to more focused reviews and help accelerate federal permitting, although there is likely to be uncertainty in the implementation of NEPA in the near term as agencies work to update their regulations and procedures.