Trump Administration Plans Overhaul Of NEPA Review Process

On January 10, 2020, the White House Council on Environmental Quality published a notice of proposed rulemaking reflecting changes to the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"). If adopted, the proposed changes would overhaul rules that have been in effect for nearly 40 years, streamlining NEPA's environmental review process and narrowing how, and indeed whether, federal agencies consider the effects of climate change in their review of energy and infrastructure projects.

NEPA requires agencies to provide detailed assessments of all major federal actions that have a significant "effect" on the human environment. Current rules define "effect" as the direct, indirect, and cumulative impact a project will have on the environment. This expansive definition requires agencies to consider a wide array of environmental consequences connected to proposed activities. It also increases litigation risk by permitting litigants to challenge