Legal Niches

White House Issues Draft Guidance on Considering Climate Change in NEPA Documents

By Jim Holtkamp

Last week, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (?CEQ?) released new draft guidance to ?modernize and reinvigorate? the National Environmental Policy Act (?NEPA?).  In two memoranda, the CEQ outlined proposed changes for the preparation of NEPA analyses, including considering and evaluating greenhouse gas (?GHG?) emissions and climate change and increasing the evaluation and monitoring of mitigation measures.

The draft guidance outlines two ways in which federal agencies should consider climate change issues under NEPA.  First, where a proposed federal action would be reasonably anticipated to emit GHGs into the atmosphere in quantities that the agency preparing the NEPA document finds may be ?meaningful,? the agency should quantify and disclose its estimate of the expected annual direct and indirect GHG emissions.  Second, lead agencies should determine the effects and impacts of climate change?not only in terms of a project?s effects on the environment, but also how climate change can affect the environment of a proposed action.

For a full overview and analysis of the draft guidance as outlined by Holland & Hart environmental attorneys Maranda Compton and Murray Feldman, click here.

Full post as published by Climage Change Law on February 22, 2010 (boomark / email).