Overview

• The AI Action Plan grants categorical exclusions for data centers and related facilities, allowing projects to bypass detailed NEPA assessments.
• The White House Council on Environmental Quality has rescinded Biden-era guidance that required agencies to consider greenhouse gas emissions in their environmental reviews.
• Under a recent executive order, several federal agencies have begun scrapping draft environmental impact statements, curtailing opportunities for public comment.
• Industry groups praise the changes as a remedy for lengthy permitting delays, while environmental advocates warn that eliminating NEPA safeguards will weaken scientific scrutiny and community participation.
• Legal experts anticipate challenges in court, pointing to a May Supreme Court decision that narrowed NEPA’s scope and to overlapping environmental statutes that still mandate coordinated reviews.