The Biden administration's Oct. 6 announcement that it will restore certain long-standing environmental reviews for infrastructure projects—rolled back by the Trump administration last year—won praise from environmental groups but has some in the construction sector wary of new project delays as a major federal funding push looms.
The 2020 changes to the application and enforcement of the landmark National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) caused implementation challenges for agencies and generated confusion among stakeholders and the public, the White House said in launching rulemaking to cancel the Trump changes. “The basic community safeguards we are proposing to restore would help ensure that American infrastructure gets built right the first time and delivers real benefits—not harms—to people who live nearby,” said Brenda Mallory, chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality.