On December 18, the Council on Environmental Quality released two documents aimed at increasing the efficiency and soundness of NEPA reviews.
The first document is new draft guidance for assessing the impact of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions in environmental impact statements required under NEPA. The draft, which is open for comment, updates a previously released draft document that CEQ issued in 2010. The proposed guidance notes that agencies should consider both the extent to which a proposed action contributes to climate change through emitting greenhouse gases (GHG) and the “implications of climate change for the environmental effects of a proposed action.” The draft specifically notes that “the statement that emissions from a government action represent only a small fraction of global emissions” is not an appropriate basis for deciding whether to consider climate impacts under NEPA, and that the extent of analysis of GHG emissions should be “commensurate” with the quantity of projected emissions. In addition, the guidance notes that agencies should consider “direct, indirect and cumulative effects” when analyzing proposed federal actions and projecting its environmental consequences.
The White House is receiving comments on the CEQ website. Once the announcement is published in the Federal Register, an official 60-day comment period will begin.
The second document, final guidance on effective use of programmatic NEPA reviews, clarifies when federal agencies should prepare programmatic reviews for large-scale federal activities and how to prepare these reviews. The guidance aims to provide a more consistent approach to programmatic NEPA analysis and outline specific recommendations for how to prepare documentation for these reviews. According to the guidance, programmatic NEPA reviews should result in “clearer and more transparent decisionmaking” and provide a better defined path toward decisions on proposed actions.
The modernization of federal agency implementation of NEPA has been a key goal for the Obama administration since 2010.