A divided federal appeals court has rejected the White House’s authority to issue rules for how agencies should comply with the National Environmental Policy Act.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said Tuesday that the White House Council on Environmental Quality violated the separation of powers by instructing agencies how to comply with the landmark environmental law.
The court’s ruling, upending long-standing understanding of the agency’s ability to issue NEPA rules, came as part of a legal challenge to a federal plan for regulating tourist flights over four national parks near San Francisco. The lawsuit did not question CEQ’s regulatory power.
“This is a very big deal,” said James Coleman, a law professor at the University of Minnesota. “It will reset court precedents and allow infrastructure-friendly judges to more narrowly interpret NEPA requirements.”
