The Biden administration is restoring federal regulations guiding environmental reviews of major infrastructure projects such as highways and pipelines that were scaled back by the Trump administration in a bid to fast-track the projects.
The White House says a rule finalized Tuesday will restore key provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, a bedrock environmental law designed to ensure community safeguards during environmental reviews for a wide range of federal projects and decisions.
The NEPA includes:
- Making decisions on permit applications
- Adopting federal land management actions
- Constructing highways and other publicly-owned facilities