White House Starts Unwinding Environmental Permitting Rules

The White House is moving quickly to undo the rules that clarify how environmental permits are issued for federal projects such as pipelines, highways, and transmission lines.

An interim final rule titled “Removal of National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations” submitted Sunday by the Council on Environmental Quality circumvents the typical notice and comment process, meaning it can take effect immediately. Agencies generally only make interim final rules in emergencies. They can still be challenged in court.

But the courts are already tilting in the Trump administration’s favor on rolling back federal environmental permitting regulations.

The US ...