CEQ Issues Guidance on Categorical Exclusions

White House CEQ outlines "CE-first" approach to streamline NEPA reviews.

Today, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a new guidance for Federal departments and agencies on how to establish, revise, adopt, and apply categorical exclusions (CE) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This guidance will relieve infrastructure projects from excessive permitting burdens and further the President's deregulatory agenda to slash costs, unleash growth, and save Americans billions.

NEPA provides that agencies can establish "categorical exclusions" for actions that normally don't have significant effects. Then, when an agency takes an action of that type, the agency can fulfil its NEPA obligations in a streamlined way instead of writing an analysis from scratch.

"It should never take longer to permit a critical infrastructure project than it takes to build it. Federal permitting needs to work better and the Trump administration is committed to making that happen," said Council on Environmental Quality Chairman Katherine Scarlett. "Today, we're announcing guidance to help agencies identify an off-ramp from unnecessary levels of environmental review, where appropriate. By focusing analysis on where it's truly needed, American infrastructure projects can move forward more efficiently while maintaining practical environmental standards."

The guidance takes into account the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 amendments to NEPA and CEQ's recent repeal of its NEPA implementing regulations. CEQ has long emphasized the importance of CEs as a core feature of NEPA practice to facilitate efficient and effective reviews in accordance with Congress's intent.

In addition to this guidance, CEQ recently launched technology tools to streamline the process of applying CEs. The tools include the Categorical Exclusion Explorer, an online searchable database of existing CEs across Federal agencies, along with its pilot program, CE Works, a technology platform that digitizes the process of completing a CE.