EPA Issues Updated NEPA Procedures And New Guidance On Section 309 Reviews

What to Know

• EPA issued a memo limiting its NEPA review comments to its own statutory authorities, not broad environmental policy preferences.
• A proposed rule would update EPA’s NEPA procedures to reflect recent legislative, executive, and judicial changes, with comments due July 27.
• Most EPA actions are already exempt from NEPA, so the proposed rule’s practical impact on the agency is expected to be limited.

This past week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued two documents that both signal an effort to align its environmental review practices with the sweeping National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) changes and with the current administration’s deregulatory agenda. First, the Deputy Administrator issued a policy memorandum narrowing the scope of EPA’s review of other agencies’ NEPA analyses under Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 309 (the “June Memorandum”). Second, EPA published a proposed rule in the Federal Register updating its NEPA implementing procedures