View Rule

On August 15, 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order 13807, titled "Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environment Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure.” Section 5(e) of Executive Order 13807 directed the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to develop an initial list of actions it will take to enhance and modernize the Federal environmental review and authorization process. CEQ published its initial list of actions in the Federal Register on September 14, 2017, (82 FR 43226) and stated that CEQ intends to review existing CEQ regulations implementing the procedural requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act in order to identify changes needed to update and clarify those regulations. The regulations were issued in 1978, were amended in 1986, and have never been comprehensively revised. While CEQ has issued memoranda and guidance documents over the years, CEQ believes it is appropriate at this time to consider updating the implementing regulations.