White House Rule Change Seeks Faster Review for Renewable Energy Projects

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Friday proposed revisions to federal agencies’ environmental reviews that would require them to more closely consider climate change and environmental justice in any new projects.

The proposed rule change would help fulfill President Joe Biden’s climate agenda, which is targeted at switching the United States off polluting carbon-based fuels to renewable energy, such as electric vehicles and offshore wind.

Electric vehicle charging stations and wind energy power stations are among the first projects that would be considered under the regulation, if it survives the rulemaking process. 

The proposed regulation would dismantle Trump administration policies that placed economic development first but downplayed parts of environmental reviews the former president considered burdensome.

The key difference is the way the National Environmental Policy Act is implemented. It addresses when and how federal agencies conduct environmental reviews.

Rather than skipping parts of the reviews as in the Trump administration, it would consolidate them into a streamlined process.

The proposal is winning approval this week from environmental and humanitarian groups, such as Oxfam America.

“As the U.S. continues to fall short in its climate commitments, this rulemaking represents a vital step in ensuring environmental justice and supporting the transition towards a just transition to renewable energy for all,” said Ashfaq Khalfan, Oxfam America’s climate justice director.

The environmental advocacy group Earthjustice said in a statement, “We must invest in upfront engagement and smart master-planning to rise to the massive challenges we face now.”

The rule proposed by the White House Council on Environmental Quality seeks to speed up environmental reviews. It would allow any agencies participating in a review to jointly decide which parts of the process can be excluded because they do not affect the environment.

It also says environmental impact statements are no longer required when it is obvious projects will have “significant, long-lasting positive impacts.”

Other provisions seek more public input, both on potential harm to the environment as well as disproportionate impact on disadvantaged communities, otherwise known as environmental justice.

“These reforms to federal environmental reviews will deliver better decisions, faster permitting, and more community input and local buy-in,” said Brenda Mallory, chairwoman of the Council on Environmental Quality, in a statement.

The White House named wildfire management and greater access to broadband as other projects that would benefit from the rule change.

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a warning about climate change.

“This summer has wreaked havoc due to wildfire smoke, drought in the Midwest and flooding in the Northeast, as well as extreme heat that has caused a surge in emergency room visits and even deaths in southern states,” the warning said. “We know these events will continue as climate change accelerates.”

Any funding required for federal agencies to implement the changes would come from the $1 billion for permitting and environmental review included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

Despite an emphasis on moving faster, Mallory said the rule also maintains high environmental standards Congress required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970.

Before Congress approved it, federal agencies tried to attain the greatest efficiency with projects, such as choosing the shortest route between two points for a new highway. The National Environmental Policy Act required them to first develop an environmental impact statement to determine whether harm to the environment would mean the greatest efficiency is not justified.

The law has been modified several times to conform with each presidential administration’s policies but it remains what the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality called “our basic national charter for protection of the environment.”

The tweak to the rules proposed last week is directed largely at procedures. The Council on Environmental Quality said it would deemphasize the “rote paperwork exercise” of environmental reviews and focus on the National Environmental Policy Act’s “larger goals and purposes.”

The proposed rule also eliminates Trump administration provisions that limited judicial oversight of environmental reviews.

In one example, litigants who opposed federal agency projects were required to post monetary bonds if they filed for preliminary injunctions. Another provision limited the authority of courts to issue injunctions when public health or safety could be threatened, even if there was a violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.

The new rule is in the public comment stage through Sept. 29.

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