The Biden administration will require climate impacts to be considered before federal agencies approve highways, pipelines and other major projects.

The news – which also requires federal regulators to receive input from local communities – restores sections of the the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act that had been been jettisoned by the Trump administration.

NEW: Biden will make agencies assess the climate impact of roads, pipelines & other infrastructure

The move reverses a big Trump-era change under the National Environmental Policy Act

via me & @annamphillips https://t.co/zGsNkbwY9M

— Dino Grandoni (@dino_grandoni) April 19, 2022

The Washington Post reports:

In 2020, Trump introduced major changes to the law’s implementation, saying the government would exempt many projects from review and speed up the approval process. His administration also said federal agencies would not consider “indirect” climate impacts. Trump and allies in the business community said the move would reinvigorate infrastructure projects across the nation.

Under the rule finalized by the Biden White House this week, regulators will now have to account for how government actions may increase greenhouse gas emissions and whether they will impose new burdens on communities, particularly poor and minority neighborhoods, that have already faced disproportionate amounts of pollution.

The move underscores how President Biden is looking for ways to push forward on his climate agenda despite rising concerns about cost increases in the economy. Under pressure to increase the supply of energy and reduce the price of fuel, his administration announced on Friday that it would resume issuing oil and gas leasing, disappointing climate activists. The administration is also working to implement a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed last fall.

Here's an interesting climate fact—the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), often referred to as the people’s environmental law, is under attack. Losing NEPA would allow harmful and polluting infrastructure to be built without room for public comment. https://t.co/Xz60yFSUNu

— Dennis Richards (@dennisar) December 1, 2021

The New York Times writes:

Brenda Mallory, chairwoman of [White House Council on Environmental Quality], described the regulation as restoring “basic community safeguards” that the Trump administration had eliminated.

“Patching these holes in the environmental review process will help projects get built faster, be more resilient, and provide greater benefits to people who live nearby,” she said in a statement.

The Times adds:

The new rule also proposes giving federal agencies the authority to work closely with communities to develop alternative approaches to projects. Historically, the N.E.P.A. process has been one of the most important tools available to local communities to try to amend or stop projects that could cause significant harm.

The final rule represents the first phase of a two-step regulatory process. Administration officials said that, in the coming months, it would propose another set of broader changes to the law.