Expediting Environmental Reviews of Infrastructure Under New Executive Order and Revised NEPA Regulations

This CLE course will examine recent federal efforts to streamline environmental reviews and permitting of infrastructure projects. The panel will address streamlining mechanisms under recent Executive Orders and the revised regulations implementing National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) issued by the Council on Environmental Quality on July 16, 2020.

The environmental review and permitting processes for infrastructure projects that require Federal approvals or funding can be expensive, time-consuming, and take years of planning and construction. The Trump Administration has taken recent efforts to improve the efficiency of these processes and minimize delays in project development, such as promulgating revised regulations implementing the NEPA, and Executive Orders to streamline federal permitting processes under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and Clean Water Act (CWA). However, agencies and project proponents should be aware that taking advantage of such new streamlining mechanisms and revised NEPA regulations is not without risk.

Listen as our authoritative panel guides counsel through recent Federal efforts to streamline the environmental review and permitting of infrastructure projects, and the associated advantages and disadvantages.