"Federal agencies including the Energy, Interior and Agriculture departments are starting to issue new permitting rules that trim back or eliminate procedures that have been in place for decades.

The new rules align with the Trump administration’s pledge to supercharge more construction in the US. But environmentalists say they fear the changes will lead to sloppy mistakes that slower, more thorough reviews would address.

The procedures are being issued through interim final rules, meaning they will kick in immediately, without any opportunity for public comment.

Federal agencies were directed in May to repeal their implementing rules under the National Environmental Policy Act. A federal appeals court found in November that the Council on Environmental Quality’s authorizing statute didn’t empower it to act as a regulatory agency."

Stephen Lee and Bobby Magill report for Bloomberg Environment June 30, 2025. [2]