Studying NEPA’s Impact on Projects Act

This bill would make the Council on Environmental Quality post a public report every year about how the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) affects projects. The reports start July 1, 2025, and must be available on the CEQ website.

Each report must cover lawsuits about NEPA, including who sued whom, which courts heard the cases, how many cases each agency faced, why the cases were filed, and what happened in each case (for example, if a project was reversed, allowed to proceed, settled, or still active, and whether the plaintiff received an award). It must also show how long and how long-winded environmental studies are (page counts and trends), how much they cost (staff time, contractor costs, and other direct costs, plus others’ costs when possible), and how long reviews take, including dates for key steps from application to “notice to proceed,” with averages and trends over time . The data must be broken down by project type and by sector (such as energy, transportation, broadband, water, and more), and CEQ must publish the underlying data and citations so the public can find related court records.

Key points

• Who is affected: CEQ, federal agencies, project sponsors, and sectors like energy, transportation, broadband, water, and more.
• What changes: A yearly, online report with details on NEPA lawsuits, study length and cost, and review timelines, plus public access to the raw data .
• When: Reporting begins July 1, 2025.