White House Won’t Extend Comment Period for Permitting Rewrite

The White House Council on Economic Quality said Wednesday it won’t extend the comment period or arrange further public meetings for its pending rewrite of the National Environmental Policy Act.

The decision, which Chairman Mary Neumayr announced in a letter to lawmakers, is a clear sign that CEQ is staying on pace with its rule proposal, which aims to speed up environmental permitting for major projects. The agency has said it has engaged in extensive public outreach on the proposal and has taken in more than 80,000 comments.

But CEQ’s refusal to prolong the comment period cuts sharply against the ...