Navigating the New Phase 2 Revised CEQ NEPA Implementing Regulations

Description

On May 1, 2024, the CEQ published their Phase 2 final rule in the Federal Register making substantial changes to the CEQ NEPA Implementing Regulations that apply to all federal agencies. CEQ states the regulations will go into effect for new federal actions that have not already begun NEPA review on July 1, 2024. The changes include numerous reversals of changes made to the regulations made by previous administration in their 2020 rulemaking, in addition to adding many new requirements for NEPA analysis. These new revisions follow the important changes made last summer by Congress to the NEPA Statute through the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, and CEQ states in this new rulemaking that these revisions to the implementing regulations are consistent with all of the statutory changes made last summer.

Collectively, these Phase 2 rulemaking revisions to the CEQ NEPA Implementing Regulations represent a comprehensive overhaul of NEPA implementation in several key areas, including:

  • Connecting the Section 102 NEPA Statute requirements to prepare NEPA reviews to the Section 101 language in the statute regarding provisions for limiting environmental harms

  • Mandating that climate change and environmental justice analysis be included in all NEPA reviews, including discussion/analysis of any interconnections between the two topics

  • Reversing changes made by the previous administration regarding many alternatives analysis requirements

  • Removes additional public comment requirements that were added in the 2020 revisions to the regulations

  • Restoring most of the definition of significance that was removed from the regulations by the previous administration

Given the complexity and scope of these changes to the regulations, there will be considerable uncertainty and debate about their implications for NEPA practice. This workshop aims to clarify these issues as much as possible, providing participants with a comprehensive understanding of these changes to the NEPA implementing procedures and their implications for NEPA practitioners. While some revisions are straightforward, others require in-depth analysis and discussion, and are likely to continue to generate uncertainty and likely litigation for many years into the future.

Objectives

Upon completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Comprehensively understand and interpret what the Phase 2 CEQ NEPA Implementing Regulations revisions require for NEPA practice, and how the revisions differ from the most recent previous version of the implementing regulations that went into effect in May, 2022

  • Distinguish between unambiguous, clear requirements in these revisions versus new provisions that trigger uncertainty in how they will be implemented

  • Develop a framework for risk management that can be used to determine how best to proceed in implementing these changes in NEPA practice, both for project proponents and government agencies

  • Understand how these revisions to the CEQ NEPA Implementing Regulations relate to the key statutory revisions to the NEPA Statute contained in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

Content

The basic format of this interactive workshop includes the following components:

  • Unit 1: Brief background on recent changes made to the CEQ NEPA Implementing Regulations in the current and previous administrations as well as by Congress through the NEPA Statute amendments contained in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

  • Unit 2: Comprehensive overview of the key revisions to the CEQ NEPA Implementing Regulations made in CEQ’s Phase 2 rulemaking published on May 1, 2024

  • Unit 3: Guidance and discussion on suggested approaches to successfully navigate these numerous changes to NEPA practice from both a NEPA practitioners and project proponent perspective. 

 

Audience

Participants for this training generally include resource specialists, team leaders, project managers, decisionmakers, attorneys, writers and editors, and other agency professionals who already have some NEPA experience and need to understand these important changes to how NEPA is implemented to fully execute their responsibilities in an optimal manner.

Process

This is an interactive workshop designed to build an overall understanding of the implications of the recent reforms to NEPA implementation. This workshop consists of a carefully designed combination of the following:

  • 70% Lecture

  • 30% Discussion

Materials

Participants receive the following:

  • Slide presentation handouts

  • Student reference manual – includes relevant statutory and regulatory documents