Green Beats Green

Thanks, environmentalists:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) that the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) does not have the legal authority to issue National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rules. Environmentalists have used NEPA as an avenue of legal attack against disfavored infrastructure projects — particularly oil- and gas-related developments — for years, with long delays pushing back timelines and driving up costs for builders even when the challenges themselves fail, according to analysis conducted by the Breakthrough Institute. .... Environmentalists sued the FAA alleging that the agency did not adequately consider the environmental impacts of allowing flights over national parks in the San Francisco area in the case underlying the ruling. The court vacated the FAA’s plan, but it did so by finding that CEQ’s NEPA rules are unenforceable, according to Sidley, a major law firm. While it is not entirely clear how Tuesday’s decision will specifically affect the permitting process if it withstands further review and appeal, the ruling effectively turns the existing paradigm on its head just months after the Supreme Court in June ruled to massively reduce agencies’ ability to interpret laws for themselves. Particularly given President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to slash regulations in his second term, the D.C. Circuit’s ruling “could provide a path towards a significant shift in how federal agencies implement NEPA and what NEPA review looks like in the years to come,” according to Morgan Lewis, a Washington, D.C., law firm. Among other policies, Trump has pledged to rescind the Biden-Harris administration’s de facto electric vehicle mandate and its major power plant rules.

"Winning," Green style...