D.C. Circuit Finds Council On Environmental Quality's NEPA Regulations Are Unenforceable

In Marin Audubon Society v. FAA, the D.C. Circuit held the White House Council on Environmental Quality ("CEQ") lacks authority to issue binding regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA").

On November 12, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in Marin Audubon Society v. FAA, vacated an air tour management plan issued by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Parks Service (together, the "Agencies") that governed tourist flight operations over four national parks near San Francisco, California. Under NEPA, federal agencies must assess the environmental impact and potential adverse effects of a proposed action. The CEQ, a body created by NEPA in 1969, promulgated regulations governing these assessments, including providing for "categorical exclusions" for certain actions identified by an agency to have no significant environmental effects. These regulations, first published in 1978, have formed the