On February 25, 2025, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published an interim final rule to remove the agency’s regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). 90 Fed. Reg. 10,610 (Feb. 25, 2025). The action is taken in response to President Trump’s Executive Order 14154, which required the CEQ to propose rescinding its NEPA regulations and convene a working group to expedite permitting approvals. The Executive Order stated, “agencies shall adhere to only the relevant legislated requirements for environmental considerations and any considerations beyond those requirements are eliminated.” In the interim final rule, the CEQ claims “to have serious concerns about its statutory authority to maintain its NEPA implementing regulations.”
The interim rule will become effective on April 11, 2025. The CEQ is accepting comments on this action until March 27, 2025.