CEQ Delivers Long-Overdue Permitting Reform
Yesterday, the Council on Environmental Quality completed one of the most consequential permitting reforms in decades, putting an end to a regulatory framework that had slowed American infrastructure to a crawl.
By finalizing the removal of its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing regulations, CEQ has restored common sense to a system that for years prioritized paperwork over progress. This action follows President Donald Trump’s day-one directive to unleash American energy and fix a broken permitting process that stifled investment, delayed projects, and drove up costs for families and businesses.
As CEQ Chairman Katherine Scarlett put it, “NEPA’s regulatory reign of terror has ended.” She’s right. By scrapping duplicative, one-size-fits-all rules and returning CEQ to its core statutory role, the Administration has given federal agencies the clarity and certainty they need to move projects forward efficiently while still protecting air, water, and land.
The results are already tangible. Major permitting agencies updated their NEPA procedures last year, many for the first time in decades, accelerating reviews and cutting needless delay. That means faster approvals for pipelines, power lines, roads, ports, and factories, exactly the infrastructure America needs to lower energy costs, strengthen supply chains, and compete globally.
This is what real reform looks like: smart deregulation that delivers jobs, energy dominance, and economic growth without sacrificing environmental stewardship. President Trump and the CEQ team deserve credit for doing the hard work to fix a system that had failed the American people for far too long.
January 8, 2026