On January 10, 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality (the
“CEQ”) published a proposed rule that would
significantly revise its regulations governing the National
Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). The proposal,
entitled “Update to the Regulations Implementing the
Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy
Act,” (the “NEPA Update Rule”) would be the
CEQ’s first major revision of its NEPA regulations in over 40
years. Comments on the proposal are due by March 10, 2020. The CEQ
also has scheduled two public hearings: in Denver, Colorado on
February 11, 2020, and in Washington, DC on February 25, 2020.
The 1969 NEPA law is a procedural statute that requires federal
agencies to consider the potential environmental impacts of
proposed major federal actions. The CEQ is responsible for issuing
regulations implementing NEPA’s review requirements, but
individual federal agencies issue their own regulations augmenting
those issued by the CEQ. Thus, for
