Executive summary: The time it takes federal agencies to complete environmental impact statements peaked in 2016 and has decreased since then, possibly due to provisions in the 2015 FAST Act aimed at streamlining reviews.
Key points:
NEPA requires federal agencies to assess environmental impacts of major actions. Compliance takes years and faces criticism.
From 2000-2016, average time to complete reviews increased. Reforms didn’t seem to help.
Since 2016, average time has dropped significantly, to the lowest level since 2011.
The 2015 FAST Act established a review council, litigation changes, and an online dashboard to improve timelines.
The causes of the decrease are uncertain. The number of completed reviews has also dropped sharply.
If provisions eased burden, we’d expect more and faster reviews. This suggests reviews’ burden is being hidden or agencies are avoiding them.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: The time it takes federal agencies to complete environmental impact statements peaked in 2016 and has decreased since then, possibly due to provisions in the 2015 FAST Act aimed at streamlining reviews.
Key points:
NEPA requires federal agencies to assess environmental impacts of major actions. Compliance takes years and faces criticism.
From 2000-2016, average time to complete reviews increased. Reforms didn’t seem to help.
Since 2016, average time has dropped significantly, to the lowest level since 2011.
The 2015 FAST Act established a review council, litigation changes, and an online dashboard to improve timelines.
The causes of the decrease are uncertain. The number of completed reviews has also dropped sharply.
If provisions eased burden, we’d expect more and faster reviews. This suggests reviews’ burden is being hidden or agencies are avoiding them.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.