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Requires the Council on Environmental Quality to publish an annual, public report showing how the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) affects federal projects. The report must include data on active NEPA lawsuits, the time and cost of environmental reviews, timelines for key NEPA documents, lists of categorical exclusions, and the underlying data, broken out by project type and specified sectors, beginning July 1, 2025. The goal is to create a consistent, disaggregated account of NEPA performance to improve transparency and help policymakers, agencies, project sponsors, and the public understand how long reviews take, how much they cost, and where litigation is occurring.
Amends Section 201 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to create a new Section 201 titled "CEQ annual report."
Defines key NEPA-related terms for use in the section: categorical exclusion, cooperating agency, Council, environmental assessment, environmental impact statement, participating Federal agency, lead agency, major Federal action.
Beginning on July 1, 2025, the Council must annually publish the report on its website and submit it to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Report must list each cause of action (lawsuit) based on alleged NEPA non-compliance that was active during the covered year and identify, for each: the defendant lead agency and lead plaintiff; the court(s) where the case was filed and appealed; the number of causes of action disaggregated by defendant lead agency; the alleged legal basis for each case (by type); and the status and outcome (including reversal of project, agency allowed to proceed, court-ordered additional measures, settlement, still active, or plaintiff award including costs under 28 U.S.C. 2412).
Report must include length information for environmental impact statements (EIS) and environmental assessments (EA) prepared during the covered year: average and median page counts (including appendices) for draft and final EISs and EAs published in the Federal Register, with page counts disaggregated by quartiles; number of draft and final EISs and EAs published, disaggregated by defendant lead agency and subagency; and a description of trends in average and median page counts compared to prior Council reports.
Who is affected and how:
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ): Directly responsible for producing the new annual report. CEQ must collect, standardize, analyze, and publish detailed data, which will increase its administrative workload and may require new data systems or staff time.
Federal agencies that implement NEPA reviews: Agencies must provide CEQ with consistent data on timelines, costs, lawsuits, and categorical exclusions. Agencies may need to change recordkeeping and reporting systems to supply disaggregated, verifiable data.
Project sponsors and applicants (infrastructure, energy, transportation, land management, permitting applicants): Their projects' NEPA timelines, costs, and litigation history will be tracked and published, increasing public visibility and potentially affecting project planning and risk assessments. Sponsors may face more scrutiny and may need to document timelines and costs more rigorously.
Environmental organizations, community groups, and other stakeholders: Will gain a regular, comparable source of data to monitor NEPA performance, target advocacy, and identify projects or sectors with long delays or frequent litigation. Greater transparency could strengthen oversight and public participation.
Courts and litigants: Publication of lawsuit data may change how parties approach litigation strategy by highlighting sectors or project types with frequent challenges, but the law does not alter substantive legal standards or judicial procedures.
State and local governments: May rely on the report for planning and to understand federal review timelines affecting local projects; they are not required to change law, but may be asked for data if they participate in federal reviews.
Overall effects:
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced March 27, 2025 by John R. Curtis · Last progress March 27, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced in Senate