Environmental Law and Policy/Governance
The Trump Administration's Self-Inflicted Problem: Why Repealing CEQ Regulations Will Delay Infrastructure and Energy Development
Author
John C. Ruple, Justin Pidot, and Jamie Pleune
Author Bios (long)

John C. Ruple is a Research Professor of Law and Director of the Wallace Stegner Center’s Law and Policy Program at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law. Justin Pidot is the Ashby Lohse Chair in Water & Natural Resources and Co-Director of the Environmental Law Program at the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law. Jamie Pleune is an Associate Research Professor of Law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law and Deputy Director of the Wallace Stegner Center’s Law and Policy Program.

Date
July 2025
Volume
55
Issue
4
Type
Comment(s)
Summary

For the first time in nearly 50 years, following the federal government's recission of CEQ's NEPA implementing regulations on April 11, 2025, there are no governmentwide regulations in place to provide consistent direction to all federal agencies on how to implement the governmentwide procedural obligations established by NEPA. This Comment explains the costs of eliminating the common floor that the CEQ regulations had established for federal agencies conducting the environmental analyses required to comply with NEPA’s statutory mandate, and why those costs need not have been incurred.

H.R. 4211
Update Type
Bills Introduced
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4211
Committee Name
Committees on Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources
Sponsor Name
Walberg
Sponsor Party Affiliation
R-Mich.
Issue
8
Volume
55
Update Issue
18
Update Volume
55
Congress Number
119
Congressional Record Number
171 Cong. Rec. H3010

would provide that a project for the deployment or modification of a communications facility entirely within a brownfield site is not subject to requirements to prepare certain environmental or historical preservation reviews.

H.R. 4141
Update Type
Bills Introduced
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4141
Committee Name
Committees on Natural Resources and Science, Space, and Technology
Sponsor Name
Miller
Sponsor Party Affiliation
R-Ohio
Issue
8
Volume
55
Update Issue
18
Update Volume
55
Congress Number
119
Congressional Record Number
171 Cong. Rec. H2969

would direct DOE and NOAA to conduct collaborative research in order to advance numerical weather and climate prediction in the United States.

H.R. 4135
Update Type
Bills Introduced
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4135
Committee Name
Committee on Natural Resources
Sponsor Name
Johnson
Sponsor Party Affiliation
R-S.D.
Issue
8
Volume
55
Update Issue
18
Update Volume
55
Congress Number
119
Congressional Record Number
171 Cong. Rec. H2969

would encourage states to participate with the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council's online dashboard for certain covered projects.

H.R. 4134
Update Type
Bills Introduced
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4134
Committee Name
Committee on Agriculture
Sponsor Name
Hinson
Sponsor Party Affiliation
R-Iowa
Issue
8
Volume
55
Update Issue
18
Update Volume
55
Congress Number
119
Congressional Record Number
171 Cong. Rec. H2969

would amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to add flood prevention and mitigation measures to purposes of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program.

H.R. 4082
Update Type
Bills Introduced
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4082
Committee Name
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Sponsor Name
Higgins
Sponsor Party Affiliation
R-La.
Issue
8
Volume
55
Update Issue
18
Update Volume
55
Congress Number
119
Congressional Record Number
171 Cong. Rec. H2888

would require a report on Coast Guard personnel skills transfer to the dredging sector and the importance of certain waterways to national security.

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