Interior trims environmental reviews to speed project development

The US DOI issued a final rule to reform NEPA, aiming to speed up energy project approvals on federal lands by reducing procedural delays and clarifying review processes, despite criticism from environmental groups.
Feb. 24, 2026
2 min read

Key Highlights

  • The final rule streamlines environmental review processes for energy projects on federal lands, aiming to reduce approval times.
  • It clarifies roles for federal, state, local, and tribal agencies, including procedures for public comments on significant projects.
  • Environmental groups and Democratic attorneys general have challenged the rule, citing concerns over diminished public participation and environmental protections.
  • Interior Secretary Doug Burgum emphasizes that the reforms restore NEPA to its original purpose of informing decisions without unnecessary delays.
  • The rule adopts over 80% of provisions from the draft NEPA reform.
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US Department of Interior building

The US Interior Department issued a final rule curbing environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act.

The US Interior Department Feb. 23 issued a final rule curbing environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to accelerate energy project development.

Enacted in the 1970s, NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impacts of proposed major actions before making decisions. The final rule outlines the way Interior will conduct environmental reviews for oil and gas lease sales, infrastructure, drilling, and other activities on federal land. 

“For decades, NEPA has been twisted into a weapon to block American energy infrastructure,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. “We are cutting unnecessary bureaucracy, speeding up approvals, and putting Americans back to work, while enforcing NEPA as Congress originally intended.”  

The final rule adopts more than 80% of provisions outlined in a draft NEPA reform rule issued by Interior last summer. Environmentalists and several states lambasted the draft for limiting public comments and paring down analysis of energy projects.

The new rule contains new sections to designate lead agencies and codify procedures for federal, state, local, and tribal officials “with special expertise” to comment on Interior’s environmental reviews. Interior would still solicit public comments on Environmental Impact Statements required for large projects or those with strong potential for significant impacts. But it eliminates the previous requirement that the agency file a public notice in the Federal Register when they begin a less-intensive Environmental Assessment.

“This is a decisive step toward fixing a broken permitting system,” said Associate Deputy Interior Secretary Karen Budd-Falen. “Interior is restoring NEPA to what Congress intended — a procedural law that informs decisions, not a regulatory maze that delays them for years." 

The Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club criticized the rule for removing opportunities for the public to comment on projects. The environmental groups sued Interior on the draft rule, saying it violated the Administration Procedure Act. A coalition of attorneys general from 18 Democratic-led states also asserted that the NEPA rollbacks were unlawful.  

About the Author

Cathy Landry

Washington Correspondent

Cathy Landry has worked over 20 years as a journalist, including 17 years as an energy reporter with Platts News Service (now S&P Global) in Washington and London.

She has served as a wire-service reporter, general news and sports reporter for local newspapers and a feature writer for association and company publications.

Cathy has deep public policy experience, having worked 15 years in Washington energy circles.

She earned a master’s degree in government from The Johns Hopkins University and studied newspaper journalism and psychology at Syracuse University.

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