Trump Administration NEPA Reforms: A Win for All Americans

Trump Administration NEPA Reforms: A Win for All Americans
“In this Administration, NEPA’s regulatory reign of terror has ended,” said White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairman Katherine Scarlett.
For decades, a well-intentioned law known as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) has been weaponized to delay Federal permits and stall growth in the United States.
President Trump took decisive action to fix America’s broken permitting system in his day one Executive Order Unleashing American Energy.
One year ago today, the major permitting agencies and departments (USDA, Commerce, DOI, DOE, FERC, DOT, and DOW including USACE) issued reforms to their NEPA procedures. These agencies and departments collectively account for the vast majority of NEPA litigation and have the most impact on the nation’s energy and infrastructure agenda.
Following those updates, USDA and DOI have finalized their respective policies and reforms, which are estimated to save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
This historic deregulation and interagency coordination, led by the White House Council on Environmental Quality, has streamlined the Federal environmental review and permitting process to the benefit of every American.
Today, over 60 agencies and departments have reformed or are in the process of reforming their procedures, following CEQ’s review of thousands of pages of regulations, procedures, and related materials. Under the leadership of President Trump, America is getting back to the core requirements of the law and moving critical projects forward without unnecessary delays.
ACCELERATING PROJECT APPROVALS, INCREASING GROUNDBREAKINGS, AND CREATING JOBS
- The Administration outlined a “Categorical Exclusions-First Approach,” and as a result, agencies are utilizing categorical exclusions at a higher rate, allowing for expedited review and focused analysis where it is most needed.
- 195 categorical exclusions have been adopted since the start of the Administration, allowing for Federal agencies to complete the NEPA process faster.
- DOI implemented emergency NEPA procedures that can permit domestic energy resources and critical mineral projects in under 28 days.
ENCOURAGING INVESTMENT AND STRENGTHENING AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE
- President Trump is strengthening America’s AI leadership with Executive Order 14318, which promotes the acceleration of Federal permitting of data center infrastructure.
- President Trump is making home construction more affordable with Executive Order 14394, which calls on CEQ to issue guidance to remove barriers to building homes under NEPA.
- President Trump is promoting commercial space innovation with Executive Order 14335, which seeks to eliminate or expedite environmental reviews for launch and reentry licenses and permits.
UNLEASHING AMERICAN ENERGY
- At DOI, the BLM has approved over 6,100 Applications for Permits to Drill (APDs)—more APDs than in any other fiscal year in the past 15 years.
- The Trump Administration has approved 63.7 percent more Federal and Indian drilling permits compared to the prior administration over the same period at this point in their presidency.
- The Administration approved 76 coal-related permits to reinvigorate America’s beautiful, clean coal industry.
- BLM announced the opening of 13.1 million more acres of federal land for coal leasing, tripling benchmarks set by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and delivering on President Trump’s directive to restore American Energy Dominance.
- The first year and a half of this Administration has offered 748,000 acres of geothermal resources, exceeding the total offered during the entirety of the prior administration.
- DOE established a new categorical exclusion for advanced nuclear reactors in response to President Trump’s Executive Order 14301, Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy, and Executive Order 14299, Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security. The categorical exclusion has been applied five times to date, saving time and resources.
CONSERVING OUR LANDS
- The Forest Service successfully harvested 475 acres of trees killed by fire, reduced hazards to recreation infrastructure and open public roads, and planted seedlings following timber harvest. They used a categorical exclusion, reducing procedural complexity and significantly accelerating the timeline. The review was completed in 16 days.
- Under the Trump Administration, seven DOI bureaus estimated that they applied a National Park Service categorical exclusion for invasive species management nearly 200 times in just one year. Bureaus used a range of treatment methods, including herbicide, hand pulling, trapping, shooting, and biological controls appropriate to both the site and the invasive species. This categorical exclusion enabled more efficient delivery of control methods to suppress or eradicate terrestrial and aquatic invasive plants and animals affecting the nation’s resources.
DEFENDING OUR NATION
- DOW has significantly streamlined environmental reviews for critical infrastructure and supply chain projects, accelerating nearly $4.5 billion dollars in investments (FY26) to advance critical mineral and Defense Industrial Base priorities. The Department maximized efficiency by applying categorical exclusions and making no “Major Federal Action” determinations where appropriate.