Murkowski Welcomes NEPA Modernization Rule
Administration Streamlines Environmental Review Processes
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today welcomed President Trump’s announcement of a final rule to modernize the federal regulations that govern the environmental review and permitting processes under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1970.
“For decades, projects in Alaska and throughout the country have languished as a result of a federal permitting process that has become unnecessarily burdensome due in large part to outdated NEPA regulations. As we work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuild the nation’s economy, it’s important we bring our nation’s 1970s-era permitting processes into the 21st century. The President and his advisers deserve credit for leading the charge to update and modernize federal NEPA regulations to responsibly streamline these processes so that critical infrastructure and other important projects can be built in a timely manner,” Murkowski said.
The White House’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published its proposal to modernize NEPA regulations in the Federal Register in January. More information can be found at CEQ’s NEPA modernization page.
In February 2013, then-Ranking Member Murkowski released Energy 20/20: A Vision for America’s Energy Future. The blueprint called for “mandatory timelines for completion of the NEPA process” and a broader reform plan “that consolidates, but does not deteriorate, the input of the various federal agencies” involved in the process.
Murkowski is Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
