On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14154 “Unleashing American Energy” which directed the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to provide guidance on implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and propose rescinding CEQ’s NEPA Regulations (as amended in July 2024). We provide an in-depth summary about this EO here.
On February 19, 2025, CEQ Chief of Staff Katherine Scarlett issued guidance in the form of a memorandum to the heads of federal agencies and departments (2025 CEQ Memo), providing direction on how agencies should update their existing NEPA procedures for consistency with the NEPA amendments in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) (2023 NEPA Statute) and the policy priorities laid out in the various Executive Orders (EOs) from President Trump. Notably, the guidance directs agencies to “not delay pending or ongoing NEPA analyses while undertaking these revisions” and should use their existing NEPA procedures, consistent with the text of EO 14154, and make any adjustments necessary to comport with the NEPA amendments made by the FRA. The guidance goes on to direct agencies to use the 2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations as an initial framework for individual agency updates, while acknowledging that those regulations are also being rescinded.
It’s important to note the 2025 CEQ Memo is agency guidance and not a regulation. Agencies are to update their NEPA procedures within 12 months of the date of the memorandum, which is February 19, 2026.
Until agencies update their NEPA procedures, below are key takeaways and potential decisions agencies could make regarding NEPA documents, taking into consideration the 2025 CEQ Memo, existing 2023 NEPA Statute, and use of the 2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations as an initial framework. The key takeaways are based on the order of the topics listed in the 2025 CEQ Memo, followed by other NEPA topics (e.g., purpose and need requirements) that may be of interest.
In addition, this downloadable PDF provides a helpful table comparison of the 2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations, the 2023 NEPA Statute (amended by the FRA), and the recommendations in the 2025 CEQ Memo.
Key Takeaways
Project Sponsors
While the 2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations and 2023 NEPA Statue already allow for project-sponsor prepared environmental documents, the 2025 CEQ Memo specifically promotes the use of project-sponsor prepared environmental documents to allow for “expeditious review.” With the recent reduction in the federal workforce, we are assuming agencies will take advantage of and use project-sponsor prepared NEPA documents to the greatest extent possible.
Time Limits/Deadlines Established by Congress
The 2023 NEPA Statue allows for more flexibility than the 2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations on the specific start and end date for environmental assessments (EA) and environmental impact statements (EIS) to meet the required timelines (one year for an EA and two years for an EIS). We assume it will be at the agency’s discretion when selecting the start and end timeframe when developing their NEPA documents to meet these required timelines. The EA and EIS timeframes are already being followed by agencies, so we don’t anticipate a big change here.
Reasonable Range of Alternatives
The 2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations defines “reasonable alternatives” to mean “a reasonable range of alternatives that are technically and economically feasible, meet the purpose and need for the proposed action, and, where applicable, meet the goals of the applicant.” The 2023 NEPA Statute and 2025 CEQ Memo are consistent with the 2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations, except leave out the language that the reasonable range of alternatives need to meet the goals of the applicant. Going forward, we assume it will be at the agency’s discretion if the reasonable range of alternatives will need meet the goals of the applicant. However, taking into consideration the 2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations, an agency could require that an existing NEPA document under development reassess the reasonable range of alternatives considering the goals of the applicant. Going forward, agencies may include this type of language in their agency-specific NEPA procedures. For example, a singular federal agency could update its NEPA procedures and include consideration of the goals of the applicant to further constrain the reasonable range of alternatives while other agencies may not.
Effects or Impacts
2023 NEPA Statute and 2025 CEQ Memo do not provide a definition of “effects” (e.g., “context and intensity” is no longer being used as a key factor to determine whether a proposed action’s environmental effects are considered “significant” under NEPA), nor do they require a cumulative impact analysis. We assume most lead agencies will use the 2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations definition of effects (i.e., those “that are reasonably foreseeable and have a reasonably close causal relationship” and that a “but for” causal relationship is insufficient to make an agency responsible for a particular effect under NEPA). In addition, we assume, NEPA documents will not include a cumulative analysis. NEPA documents under development may require a reassessment of effects to be consistent with 2025 CEQ Memo and removal of the cumulative analysis.
Major Federal Action/Federal Funding
While the 2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations and 2023 NEPA Statute address “major federal actions” related to federal funding, the 2025 CEQ Memo provides greater clarity on the role of funding (or lack thereof) in “major federal actions.” We assume agencies will follow the 2025 CEQ Memo regarding NEPA and funding which states, “Proposed agency actions with “no or minimal Federal funding” and “loans, loan guarantees, or other forms of financial assistance where a Federal agency does not exercise sufficient control and responsibility over the subsequent use of such financial assistance or the effect of the action” are not “major Federal actions.” Issuance of a Federal grant or loan (e.g., a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan) may not be considered a “major federal action” for NEPA. However, these actions will be subject to National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 review because they meet the definition of an undertaking found at 36 CFR Part 800.16(y). Other project actions may also trigger permits from other federal agencies (e.g., an individual Clean Water Act Section 404 permit for impacts to Waters of the US) and require NEPA compliance.
Environmental Justice Consideration
EO 14148 revoked EO 14096. EO 14173 revoked EO 12898. Going forward, we assume NEPA documents will not include an environmental justice analysis, to the extent that this approach is consistent with other applicable laws.
Tiering/Programmatic Documents
2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations does not address relying on programmatic environmental documents and the ability to rely on information for five years as stated in the 2023 NEPA Statute and supported by the 2025 CEQ Memo. However, we assume agencies will follow the 2023 NEPA Statute whereby programmatic environmental documents will be used to the extent possible, as this has the possibility of expediting the NEPA review.
Joint Documents
Consistent with the 2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations and 2023 NEPA Statute, we assume agencies will continue to issue a joint FONSI or ROD where appropriate, and lead and cooperating agencies will evaluate the proposed action and alternatives in a single EA or EIS. Since 2023, we have seen an increase in joint documents consistent with the 2023 NEPA Statute.
Page Limits
Consistent with the 2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations and 2023 NEPA Statute, we assume existing page limits will be adhered to by agencies—75 pages for an EA and 150 pages or 300 pages (for complex projects) for an EIS. However, the 2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations provide greater clarity than the NEPA Statute on what a “page” means (e.g., does not include maps, diagrams, graphs, etc.). Agencies have already been adhering to these page limitations since 2023, so we don’t anticipate any major changes. However, agencies may prefer to use the “page” definition per the 2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations that allows for more flexibility.
Purpose and Need
The 2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations state that “When an agency’s statutory duty is to review an application for authorization, the agency shall base the purpose and need on the goals of the applicant and the agency’s authority.” However, the 2023 NEPA Statute and 2025 CEQ Memo do not specifically require the purpose and need to be based on the goals of the applicant. We assume it will be at the agency’s discretion if the purpose and need must meet the goals of the applicant. Taking into consideration the 2020 CEQ NEPA Regulations, an agency could require that an existing NEPA document under development reassess the purpose and need, taking into consideration the goals of the applicant.
Interim Final Rule
The interim final rule was published in the Federal Register on February 25, 2025, and will take effect on April 11, 2025 (45 days from date of publication). The interim final rule does what we expected: it rescinds the NEPA implementing regulations at 40 CFR 1500 – 1508 and directs the responsibility of updating or modifying NEPA regulations to the agencies responsible for complying with the statute.
Date
February 26, 2025
