D.C. Circuit Rules CEQ Lacks Authority To Issue NEPA Regulations

On November 12, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (the "Court") issued an opinion that may reshape how federal agencies implement environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"). The Court issued a 2-1 decision in Marin Audubon Society, et al., v. Federal Aviation Administration, et al. (the "Decision"), invalidating a plan jointly developed by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Park Service (together, the "Agencies") that regulated tourist flights over national parks due to failure to comply with NEPA and the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000.

While the Court ultimately held that the Agencies acted arbitrarily in analyzing the environmental impact of the Bay Area Parks Air Tour Management Plan (the "Plan"), the most notable aspect of the Decision was unrelated to any particular facts of the Plan. It was rather in the fact that the Court sua sponte chose to address the White