CEQ Releases Guidance to Streamline NEPA Reviews
Source: The White House
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued updated National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) guidance to expedite and simplify federal permitting, a top priority under President Trump’s administration.
Key Points:
- Infrastructure projects have often faced permit delays longer than construction timelines—hindering growth and competitiveness.
- The new guidance implements President Trump’s Unleashing American Energy Executive Order and builds on 2023 and 2025 NEPA amendments passed by Congress.
- It also incorporates the Supreme Court’s decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County.
- CEQ Chair Katherine Scarlett emphasized that all three government branches now back permitting reform, calling this the most significant NEPA reform in its 55-year history.
- On June 30, 2025, the first wave of federal agencies updated their procedures with CEQ, modernizing systems not revised in over five decades.
- CEQ continues interagency coordination to ensure consistency as agencies adopt the new framework.
Takeaway:
The reforms mark a historic streamlining of environmental reviews, ensuring faster project approvals, reinforcing America’s energy dominance, and strengthening U.S. leadership in infrastructure and economic development.
