The Biden administration is restoring federal regulations that require rigorous environmental review of major infrastructure projects.
Highlights
- The Biden administration is restoring federal regulations that require rigorous environmental review of major infrastructure projects.
- The longstanding reviews were scaled back by the Trump administration in a bid to fast-track projects and create jobs.
- The White House Council on Environmental Quality said the new rule, which takes effect in late May, should resolve challenges created by Trump-era policy.
- The new rule comes as the Supreme Court reinstated a separate rule that curtails the power of states and Native American tribes to block pipelines and other energy projects that can pollute rivers, streams and other waterways.
- Business groups and Republican lawmakers criticized the rule change, saying it would slow down major infrastructure developments.