U.S. Department of Agriculture announces new environmental review regulations

Key Takeaways

UPDATE

On May 12, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development announced that its programs will officially adopt USDA’s new National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations, marking a significant shift in how environmental reviews will be implemented across USDA agencies. The change follows USDA’s Final Rule published in April 2026, which removes several agency-specific NEPA regulations and replaces them with a unified, department-wide framework. This change includes removing Rural Development 7 CFR 1970, the existing environmental policies and procedures for USDA Rural Development (RD) programs.

Read USDA’s announcement 

On April 7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a final rule issuing new regulatory guidance for the department’s environmental review processes. The new rule affects how USDA implements the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and affects projects funded by the agency or occurring on land managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). 

NACo submitted comments on USDA’s initial proposed regulations in August 2025 urging USDA to maintain guidance on the cooperating agency process. In response to comments on its proposed regulations, USDA included expanded and clarified guidance on when and how to designate cooperating agencies during NEPA reviews. 

Background

NEPA requires the federal government to study the environmental impact of major government actions, and the law allows local governments to participate in reviews as cooperating agencies. On February 25,  the Trump Administration rescinded government-wide NEPA regulations, including those that regulated the cooperating agency process, and directed departments to issue new rules. USDA, along with several other agencies, published interim regulations on July 3, 2025. 

When designated as cooperating agencies, counties can provide comments and data to shape federal environmental reviews. As environmental stewards and representatives of local communities, counties have vital information about the impacts of proposed projects, and their input leads to better outcomes and more effective project delivery. 

County Impacts

In the final regulation, USDA expanded guidance on the cooperating agency process. Although USDA maintained language that gives officials broad discretion on whether to invite local governments to be cooperating agencies, it clarified that agencies must invite counties and other local governments to participate in environmental reviews when they will use the review for their own siting decisions. This provision applies to projects that require both federal permitting and local zoning approval and strengthens county involvement.

The final regulation also requires USDA officials to consider requests from local governments to participate as cooperating agencies and provides guidance on how they can coordinate to prepare documents and establish review timelines. 

See final rule

The regulations apply to NEPA reviews conducted by USDA, including agencies within the department, such as the U.S. Forest Service during the development of forest management plans.

Next Steps

Although the clarifications made in USDA’s final rule strengthen county involvement, they differ from other federal agencies’ NEPA regulations. On February 13, the U.S. Department of the Interior released its NEPA implementation rule, which requires that local governments be incorporated as cooperating agencies during the development of an environmental impact statement (EIS). NACo will monitor the implementation and impact of this final rule, particularly in rural counties.

As a result, counties face regulatory inconsistency and are not fully given a seat at the table depending on the agency leading the environmental review. NACo supports legislation such as the SPEED Act (H.R. 4776) and CERTAIN Act that would establish a clear, consistent definition of cooperating agency that recognizes the expertise of local governments.