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