NEPA Reform Challenge “Long on Words, Short on Substance,” ARTBA Argues

What’s happening: ARTBA and its industry allies are defending the Trump administration’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reforms against a new court challenge.

Why it matters: ARTBA supports the reforms, which are designed to reduce delays in NEPA reviews while maintaining the law’s environmental protections. ARTBA and its allies successfully fought off a 2021 legal challenge to the reforms. Now, the same groups that lost in district court have appealed the decision.

In a Jan. 25 brief urging the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss the latest challenge, ARTBA said the opponents fail to demonstrate “a single practical or concrete injury” caused by the NEPA reforms. At 650 paragraphs and 180 pages, it is “long on words and short on relevant substance.”

The Biden administration is in the process of finalizing regulations to roll back the NEPA reforms. It is important to ensure that the NEPA reforms survive any legal challenges in court because it will bolster the case for opposing regulatory efforts to weaken them.

What’s next: The court will schedule arguments in this case. ARTBA will keep its membership updated on future developments.