The Department of the Interior today announced final sweeping reforms to its National Environmental Policy Act procedures, cutting red tape, accelerating project approvals, and restoring NEPA to its intended role as a focused, efficient decision-making tool.
The reforms, led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and part of a whole-government approach, reaffirm the rescission of more than 80% of Interior’s prior NEPA regulations, with the majority of those regulations moved into a streamlined Departmental NEPA Handbook of Implementing Procedures. The regulations that remain govern when and how to comply with NEPA and which of the NEPA processes that should be used in the various decision-making processes and protect the ability of state and local governments to be part of the analysis process as required by NEPA itself. The action follows the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s recent confirmation of its own rescission of NEPA regulations, clearing the way for agencies to modernize outdated and duplicative requirements.
“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.”
The reforms represent one of the most consequential permitting overhauls ever undertaken by the Department.
“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.”
A Smarter, Faster NEPA
Interior’s final action rescinds outdated and duplicative regulatory provisions that had accumulated over decades, while retaining core requirements necessary to comply with the NEPA statute as amended by Congress. By shifting most procedural requirements into a Departmental handbook, the Department provides clear, practical guidance to staff while preserving flexibility to meet operational and project needs.
The reforms are expected to significantly reduce delays and costs for projects across public lands, including energy development, critical minerals, livestock grazing approvals, infrastructure, wildfire mitigation, water projects and conservation efforts. Interior estimates the changes will save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over time by shortening review timelines and reducing unnecessary paperwork, while maintaining transparency and informed decision-making.
These reforms do not eliminate environmental review. NEPA remains in full effect, and Interior will continue to consider environmental impacts and other impacts to the human environment, coordinate with tribes, state and local governments, and other partners, and comply with all applicable environmental laws.
Delivering on President Trump’s Agenda
The action advances President Trump’s commitment to unleash American Energy Dominance and responsible resource use, in addition to strengthening national security and restoring common sense to federal permitting. It aligns with recent executive actions directing agencies to reduce regulatory burdens, accelerate approvals, and promote economic growth.
Interior will begin implementing the updated procedures immediately, providing certainty to project sponsors, states, tribes, and local communities, and ensuring that critical projects move forward without years of unnecessary delay.
Tagged with Department of the Interior