The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled to limit the scope of environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), potentially speeding up approvals for key infrastructure projects like railways, highways, pipelines, and airports. The decision could streamline federal permitting, a longtime goal of Republican lawmakers and former President Donald Trump.
The case focused on an 88-mile railway designed to transport waxy crude oil from Utah’s Uinta Basin. Environmental groups argued the government failed to consider broader impacts, such as the environmental harm caused by increased oil production and refining. However, the Court sided with the federal agency, the Surface Transportation Board, which limited its review to transportation-related impacts.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing the unanimous opinion, emphasized that NEPA is meant to be a procedural safeguard, not a tool to halt development. He said agencies deserve broad discretion in determining the scope of their reviews as long as they remain reasonable. Justice Neil Gorsuch recused himself, reportedly due to a potential conflict of interest.
The Court’s liberal justices—Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson—agreed with the result but emphasized a narrower interpretation. Justice Sotomayor noted that federal agencies should only analyze environmental impacts within their jurisdiction. In this case, since the Surface Transportation Board doesn’t regulate oil production or refining, it was not responsible for those broader consequences.
Both the Biden and Trump administrations supported limiting NEPA’s scope, aligning on the view that long, detailed environmental reviews delay important infrastructure projects. Congress recently changed NEPA to cap many reviews at 150 pages, further reducing their complexity and length.
Environmental groups, like Earthjustice, warn the ruling sets a dangerous precedent. They argue that limiting environmental analysis to agency-specific impacts will obscure major health and environmental risks from fossil fuel-related projects, placing communities at greater risk.
