CEQ Announces Details of Public Hearing on Proposed Rule to Modernize NEPA Regulations

Hearing will be held on February 25^th in Washington, DC

Contact: (Daniel.J.Schneider@ceq.eop.gov)

Washington, D.C. – The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has announced the details of a second public hearing on CEQ’s proposal to comprehensively update its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations for the first time in over 40 years.

What: Public hearing on CEQ’s proposed rule titled Update to the Regulations Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act.

When: Tuesday, February 25, 2020. There will be a morning, afternoon, and evening session available for registration.

• The morning hearing session will convene at 9 am and will conclude at Noon EST.
• The afternoon hearing session will convene at 1 pm and will conclude at 4 pm EST.
• The evening hearing session will convene at 5 pm and will conclude at 8 pm EST.

Where: Department of the Interior, Sidney Yates Auditorium, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240

Registration Information: Anyone wishing to attend the public hearing, either as a speaker or as a listener, must register in advance on Eventbrite. In order for as many individuals to participate as possible, attendees may only register for one ticket. Free tickets to all three sessions will be available at the links below at 1 pm EST, today, February 7, 2020.

• Tickets for the morning session (9am-Noon EST) will be available HERE.
• Tickets for the afternoon session (1 pm-4 pm EST) will be available HERE.
• Tickets for the evening session (5pm-8 pm EST) will be available HERE.

Background: In 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order 13807 establishing a One Federal Decision policy, including a two-year goal for completing environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects, and directing CEQ to consider revisions to modernize its regulations. In 2018, CEQ issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) requesting comment on potential updates to its regulations. CEQ received over 12,500 comments, which informed CEQ’s proposed rule.

On January 10, 2020, CEQ published a notice of proposed rulemaking to comprehensively modernize its NEPA regulations for the first time in over 40 years.

• A fact sheet on the proposed rule can be found HERE.
• Text of the proposed rule can be found HERE.

CEQ is also planning to make a public webcast presentation on the proposed rule available on its NEPA Modernization page and NEPA.gov, in advance of the public hearing. Comments on CEQ’s proposed rule should be submitted on or before March 10, 2020.

You may submit comments via any of the following methods:

• Go to https://www.regulations.gov/ and follow the online instructions for submitting comments to Docket ID No. CEQ-2019-0003.
• By Fax: 202-456-6546
• By mail:
  • Council on Environmental Quality
    730 Jackson Place, NW
    Washington, DC 20503
    Attn: Docket No. CEQ-2019-0003

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