The Department of the Interior has announced final reforms to its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures, aimed at streamlining project approvals and reducing regulatory delays. These changes, led by Secretary Doug Burgum under President Donald J. Trump’s administration, are part of a broader effort to modernize federal permitting processes.
The reforms involve rescinding more than 80% of the department’s previous NEPA regulations. Most procedural requirements will now be included in a streamlined NEPA Handbook of Implementing Procedures. The remaining regulations focus on when and how to comply with NEPA and outline which processes should be used for decision-making, while also maintaining opportunities for state and local governments to participate in environmental analyses as required by law. This action follows confirmation from the White House Council on Environmental Quality that it has also rescinded outdated NEPA rules.
“For decades, NEPA has been twisted into a weapon to block American energy, infrastructure, and conservation projects,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “Under the leadership of President Trump, this administration is fixing that. We are cutting unnecessary bureaucracy, speeding up approvals, and putting Americans back to work, while enforcing NEPA as Congress originally intended.”
Department officials describe these changes as among the most significant permitting overhauls ever conducted at Interior.
“This is a decisive step toward fixing a broken permitting system,” said Associate Deputy Secretary Karen Budd-Falen. “Interior is restoring NEPA to what Congress intended — a procedural law that informs decisions, not a regulatory maze that delays them for years. These reforms will help unleash American energy, strengthen rural communities and deliver real results faster for the American people.”
By consolidating requirements into a departmental handbook and removing outdated or duplicative rules, Interior aims to provide clear guidance for staff while retaining flexibility for specific project needs. The department expects these measures will reduce both delays and costs associated with projects on public lands such as energy development, minerals extraction, grazing permits, infrastructure upgrades, wildfire mitigation efforts, water management projects and conservation activities.
Interior estimates that shortening review timelines could save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over time through reduced paperwork and faster decision-making processes. However, officials emphasized that environmental review requirements remain in place; the department will continue evaluating environmental impacts and consulting with tribes as well as state and local partners in accordance with existing laws.
The reforms support President Trump’s priorities regarding energy production and resource use while aligning with executive actions instructing agencies to lessen regulatory burdens and foster economic growth.
Implementation of these updated procedures begins immediately in an effort to provide greater certainty for project sponsors and ensure timely progress on key initiatives across public lands.
