Studying NEPA’s Impact on Projects Act
What changed between versions
The reporting scope was narrowed from covering both environmental impact statements (EIS) and environmental assessments (EA) to covering only EISs. Environmental assessments are no longer tracked for page counts, costs, or timelines.
The Senate committee receiving reports changed from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
The authority to designate additional covered sectors was expanded from CEQ alone to 'the Council on Environmental Quality or lead agency,' giving individual agencies some say in defining new sectors.
The reporting structure changed from CEQ directly compiling and publishing a single report to a two-step process where each lead agency head first submits its own report to CEQ, which then publishes them and forwards them to Congress. The first deadline moved from July 1, 2025 to July 1, 2026.
Litigation outcome categories were refined: 'reversed' became 'held unlawful and set aside under 5 U.S.C. 706(2)'; 'allowed to move forward' became 'decision allowing the Federal agency to proceed'; 'directed to take additional measures' became 'remanded for reconsideration without vacating the analysis'; and settlement language now specifies 'settlement agreement or consent decree.' A new provision allows agencies to report award information in a subsequent report if it arrives after the filing deadline.
New requirement to disaggregate EIS length data before and after the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 for reports through 2028, and to disaggregate timeline data before and after that Act for reports through 2033.
Cost reporting changed from 'total cost' to 'an estimate of the cost,' and a new cost category was added for project sponsors that prepared an EIS under the supervision of the lead agency.
The term 'cause of action based on alleged non-compliance with this Act' was replaced with 'civil action alleging an agency action in violation of this Act,' narrowing the scope to civil actions specifically and clarifying that the claim is about a specific agency action rather than general non-compliance.
Page count methodology changed: citations and appendices are now excluded from the main EIS page count and reported separately, rather than being included in the total. The term 'published in the Federal Register' was replaced with 'made publicly available' in multiple places, broadening what counts as a public milestone.
The timeline tracking consolidated separate draft and final EIS publication milestones into a single milestone for when 'the environmental impact statement was made publicly available.' The disaggregation by covered sector is now required only 'to the extent practicable' rather than unconditionally.
