The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) on December 19 proposed updated guidance for assessing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). CEQ has responsibility for providing guidance to federal agencies on compliance with NEPA’s environmental assessment requirements. The new proposed guidance updates CEQ’s 2010 draft guidance on how agencies should assess projects’ GHG impacts. The draft guidance for the first time includes guidance on the so-called “reverse environmental impact” assessment of the impacts of climate change on proposed projects. The draft also details how federal agencies should analyze and mitigate… Read more
Tag: CEQ
CEQA Announces Final Guidance on NEPA
by Jessica Lee Reece On January 21, 2010, the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) issued its final guidance relating to the appropriate use of mitigation under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The CEQ is charged with overseeing NEPA’s implementation by Federal agencies. Through its guidance memorandum (76 Fed. Reg. 3843), CEQ attempts to modernize and increase the transparency of NEPA implementation and so the guidance clarifies certain requirements in Environmental Assessments (EA) and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS). The guidance memo also outlines certain principles that should be applied when Federal agencies develop their NEPA regulations, as well as procedures to… Read more