Congressional committees have been holding hearings on permitting reform for broadband, energy, air, and water infrastructure projects.
IEC and 500+ organizations from every U.S. state joined a U.S. Chamber of Commerce coalition letter on September 3 calling on Congress to enact meaningful legislation to modernize America’s permitting process.
On September 18, Rep. Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, led a hearing titled Examining Solutions to Expedite Broadband Permitting. Witnesses shared stories of harrowing NEPA delays and discussed the benefits of almost 30 bills on permit reform.
Earlier this year, federal agencies released new NEPA procedures that aim to simplify permitting of energy and infrastructure projects that are the lifeblood of IEC member businesses.
The Trump administration’s new policies on permitting are a result of recent NEPA reforms by Congress and NEPA-specific court rulings. Together, these reforms should help more projects break ground faster and provide certainty and clarity to stakeholders.
Between June 30 and July 3, 2025, multiple federal agencies––such as the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, Energy, Transportation, and Defense, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers––proposed updates to their NEPA regulations.
Broadly, the reforms will help expedite infrastructure development and cut project costs by:
- Setting deadlines and page limits on NEPA environmental reviews, as required by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (two years and 150 pages for environmental impact statements; one year and 75 pages for environmental assessments).
- Clarifying that NEPA does not apply to every federal action.
- Allowing agencies to more easily create and adopt “categorical exclusions” for activities that do not have significant environmental impacts.
In most instances, federal agency NEPA changes are not yet in full effect as they await
In February 2025, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), in compliance with President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14154, “Unleashing American Energy,” rescinded its NEPA regulations, which applied to all federal agencies. Additionally, the CEQ issued guidance directing federal agencies to update their own NEPA regulations within one year. On September 18, the U.S. Senate confirmed Katherine Scarlett to serve as the 13th chair of the CEQ, where much work needs to be done.
The new procedures also follow a recent Supreme Court decision in Seven County Infrastructure v. Eagle County clarifying that agencies generally must consider only the environmental effects of the project they are reviewing rather than study indirect impacts beyond their authority.
CEQ Updates NEPA Implementation Guidance
On Sept. 29, the Council on Environmental Quality chair Katherine Scarlett released a memorandum providing agencies guidance on implementing the National Environmental Policy Act. The memorandum and corresponding Agency NEPA Procedures Template provide a framework for agencies to revise their NEPA procedures. See the CEQ press release on the guidance here.