In January 2026, the Council on Environmental Quality removed all of its CEQ NEPA regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations. For anyone working in environmental review, this is the biggest change to NEPA in decades. But what does it actually mean for your project? The short answer: less than you might think, especially if […]
What Happened to CEQ’s NEPA Regulations? Read More »
In May 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its first major ruling on NEPA in two decades. The Seven County NEPA ruling was unanimous 8 to 0. It significantly changed how courts review NEPA documents and how far agencies must look when analyzing environmental impacts. If you work on federally funded projects, this ruling affects
The Supreme Court Changed NEPA: Here’s What Seven County Means for Your Project Read More »
In April 2026, the Council on Environmental Quality issued new categorical exclusion guidance on how federal agencies should establish, revise, adopt, and apply Categorical Exclusions under NEPA. the categorical exclusion guidance signals a clear policy shift: when in doubt, use a Categorical Exclusion. For anyone working on federally funded projects, this is worth understanding. More
Categorical Exclusions Are Expanding: What the New CEQ Guidance Means Read More »
You finished a NEPA document, got your approval, and moved on. Then the project stalls. Two years pass. The design changes. New information comes in. Now you need to move forward but is your original NEPA document still good? That is exactly what a NEPA re-evaluation answers. It is a formal review that determines whether
NEPA Re-evaluation: What It Is and When It’s Required Read More »
If you work on projects in California, you’ve probably dealt with both NEPA and CEQA. They cover a lot of the same ground: environmental review, impact analysis, public disclosure. But they are separate laws with different triggers, different processes, and different requirements. Understanding how they relate to each other and where they diverge is essential
NEPA vs. CEQA: What’s the Difference? Read More »
An Environmental Impact Statement is the most rigorous level of NEPA review. It is required when a project is expected to have significant effects on the human environment, or when an Environmental Assessment concludes that impacts are significant enough to warrant one. EIS projects are serious undertakings. They are relatively rare in day-to-day local agency
What Is an Environmental Impact Statement? Read More »
An Environmental Assessment is the middle tier of NEPA review. It sits between a Categorical Exclusion, the streamlined review used for routine projects, and an Environmental Impact Statement, which is required for major projects with significant impacts. An EA is what happens when the level of environmental impact is uncertain. The purpose of an EA
What Is an Environmental Assessment? Read More »
If a project goes through an Environmental Assessment, it ends one of two ways. Either the agency determines the project will cause significant environmental impacts and moves to a full Environmental Impact Statement, or it issues a Finding of No Significant Impact. Most EAs end this way. What a FONSI Actually Is A Finding of
What Is a FONSI? (Finding of No Significant Impact Explained) Read More »
The NEPA process has eight key steps from determining federal involvement to getting project approval. Here’s how it works in plain language. What Is the NEPA Process? NEPA — the National Environmental Policy Act — requires federal agencies to evaluate environmental impacts before approving projects that involve federal funding, federal permits, or federal land. The
The NEPA Process: A Step-by-Step Overview Read More »
Meta description: NEPA timelines range from one month to five years depending on the type of review required. Here’s what drives the timeline and what you can do to keep your project on track. The Honest Answer One month. Or five years. Depending on the project, both are possible under NEPA. That’s not a dodge.
How Long Does NEPA Actually Take? Read More »