U.S. Environmental Protection Agency releases new guidelines for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act

Key Takeaways

On June 25, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a proposed rule updating its implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act. The updated rule follows EO 14154, Unleashing American Energy, and the Seven County Infrastructure v. Eagle County, Colo. decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

See proposed rule

The proposed rule does not establish any mandatory consultation with counties or other state and local agencies during the NEPA review process. The cooperating agency process, which gives counties the opportunity to contribute to environmental reviews, is a strong coordination tool that strengthens outcomes for federal projects.

Background

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to conduce environmental impacts of major federal actions. After an executive order in January 2025, several federal agencies have reissued NEPA guidelines to comply with the directive and set agency-specific regulations.

Learn More

As part of the NEPA review process, counties may serve as cooperating agencies and can provide comments and data, although that process is subject to agency-specific regulations and guidance. 

Although NEPA broadly applies to almost all federal actions, EPA conducts NEPA reviews only for certain projects, including new source permits under the Clean Water Act and projects funded by the Water Infrastructure Financing and Infrastructure Act (WIFIA; P.L. 113-121). Many EPA actions, such as many Clean Water Act authorities and all Clean Air Act permits require environmental review under other statutes and are exempted from NEPA.

County Impacts

EPA’s proposed rule does not implement any additional regulation clarifying the role or responsibilities of cooperating agencies beyond what is established by NEPA statute. Under the proposed rule, EPA may – but is not required to – proactively invite counties to serve as cooperating agencies.

EPA proposal also makes changes to reflect the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition decision and implement EO 14154, Unleashing American Energy. Key changes include the ability to adopt categorical exclusions used by other federal agencies and changes to definitions and standards of evidence to clarify when an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement is warranted. It also sets page limits and deadlines for completion of environmental reviews. These changes make commonsense reforms to NEPA implementing regulations at EPA.

Next Steps

EPA must consider and respond to comments made on its proposed rule before issuing a final regulation, and counties are encouraged to share how it would affect them. NACo continues to advocate for reforms to NEPA that would strengthen the role of cooperating agencies, including the SPEED Act (H.R. 4776) and CERTAIN Act (H.R. 8308), and urges federal agencies to carefully consider proposed rules to ensure that counties continue to have a seat at the table during NEPA reviews.