Proposed NEPA Revisions Seek To Ingrain Environmental Justice Into Permitting Decisions

The Council on Environmental Quality recently published the "Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule," the second in a two-phase approach to revising National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementation regulations. An accompanying White House Fact Sheet highlights the proposal's objectives to accelerate environmental reviews, encourage community engagement, accelerate clean energy advancements, strengthen energy security, and advance environmental justice.

From an environmental justice perspective, the proposed revisions will require agencies, where appropriate, to incorporate mitigation measures that will avoid or reduce a proposed action's significant adverse health and environmental effects that disproportionately and adversely affect communities with environmental justice concerns. The proposal generally embeds the term "environmental justice" throughout the NEPA regulations, making a facility's location a determining factor in the degree of review