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Democratic AGs Support CEQ Reinstatement of NEPA Regulations

  • A coalition of 18 Democratic AGs filed a comment letter in support of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) notice of proposed rulemaking revising its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires federal agencies to conduct assessments of the environmental impacts of proposed actions, including energy and infrastructure projects and the management of public lands, before making decisions. NEPA regulations were rolled back in 2020 under the Trump Administration.
  • In their comment letter, the AGs praise CEQ’s proposed rule as harmonizing the NEPA implementing regulations with the statutory text and purpose of NEPA, including increasing public participation and ensuring collection of climate change data and data regarding the disparate impacts of agency actions on communities with environmental justice concerns.
  • The AGs ask the CEQ to implement additional changes to strengthen the rule, including a requirement that climate change effects be considered for all environmental reviews of proposed actions and that environmental justice analyses include assessment of the cumulative effects on communities of color, low-income communities, indigenous communities, and Tribal communities.