Blogs

Late last week, APGA joined with numerous others on comments related to a new interim final rule (IFR) from the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). In this submittal, the signers noted their support for the environmental stewardship goals of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) but identified concerns that this new rule will create confusion and uncertainty, which ultimately leads to further delays in agency decision making, associated infrastructure construction, and economic development for the nation and communities that need it most. CEQ’s IFR delays by two years the date agencies will be required to propose updates to their NEPA implementing procedures. CEQ also acknowledged changes were upcoming on infrastructure approval policy but did not provide any specifics. This ambiguity impacts projects, such as new pipelines, whose NEPA reviews are currently underway or will start in the next two years. Whether these projects will have to redo their NEPA analyses when future action is finalized is still unclear.

Project sponsors, who are trying to do the right thing and comply with regulations, now must address unnecessary questions with this new announcement from CEQ, and APGA was happy to sign on with others to raise this concern. The federal government should better balance environmental protection with permitting the pipelines and other projects that America depends on to move needed energy.

To see the letter, click here.

For questions on this article, please contact Stuart Saulters of APGA staff by phone at 202-544-1334 or by email at ssaulters@apga.org.