CEQ finalized its “Phase 1” rule, undoing several Trump-era revisions to NEPA. The final rule restored three provisions from the original 1978 rule: (1) correcting 2020 changes that required an agency to limit consideration of the public interest and reasonable alternatives; (2) clarifying that agencies have discretion to go beyond requirements set by CEQ; and (3) restoring the definitions of direct and indirect effects and cumulative impacts, and removing other language that could narrow the scope of agencies’ NEPA analysis. CEQ said it would “more broadly revisit” the 2020 NEPA regulations in a “Phase 2” rule.
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