"The Trump administration has signaled its intent to update the baseline National Environmental Policy Act guidelines for the whole federal government.

The White House Council on Environmental Quality has submitted a draft advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, dated Thursday, with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, indicating that it will update "the regulations for implementing the procedural provisions" of NEPA.

The draft will be published in the Federal Register as an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking in the coming weeks after an interagency review, a CEQ spokesman told E&E News. That will trigger a public comment period before CEQ submits a more detailed proposal for what, exactly, it wants to change.

If it eventually goes through, the new guidelines could mark a major change for how agencies across the government handle permitting."

Nick Sobczyk reports for E&E News PM May 7, 2018. [2]