The White House Proposes to Strengthen National Environmental Policy Act

On his first day in office, President Biden signed EO 13990, which revoked EO 13807. The White House then directed the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to review the 2020 Regulations for consistency with EO 13990’s stated objective of “protecting public health and the environment.” That review resulted in the Proposed Rule now under consideration, as the CEQ determined the 2020 Regulations would “have negative repercussions for environmental protection and environmental quality, including in critical areas such as climate change and environmental justice” and “may not support science-based decision making.”