The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has voted to update its environmental guidelines for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in response to recent changes in administrative and judicial policies.
The new FERC manual clarifies how agency staff will evaluate projects requiring NEPA review, aiming to reduce unnecessary delays and ensure consistent standards across environmental assessments. The updated rules seek to shorten the maximum time allowed for completing Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements from three years to two years.
Additionally, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) NEPA Procedures address the recent Supreme Court decision in Seven County, which limits agencies’ obligations to analyze upstream and downstream GHG effects and restricts extensive climate change analyses related to activities beyond the agency’s jurisdiction. Consequently, DOE’s NEPA analyses should not consider environmental impacts of separate projects, particularly those outside DOE’s regulatory authority.
This change follows the U.S. government’s recent executive order calling for accelerated environmental review processes.
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