Supreme Court limits environmental review of major infrastructure projects
UNITED STATES, JUN 4 – The Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that federal agencies must only consider direct environmental impacts for infrastructure projects, supporting faster approvals and economic growth in fossil fuel regions.
- On May 29, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously approved an 88-mile railway project in Utah designed to transport oil, ruling in favor of a narrower application of environmental regulations.
- The ruling followed an appeal after a lower court invalidated an environmental review for not including broad upstream and downstream impacts.
- Justices reversed the lower court and restored federal approval from the Surface Transportation Board, supporting a narrower review scope under NEPA.
- Justice Kavanaugh stated that regulators have the discretion to determine which factors to consider, while Justice Sotomayor concurred with the decision but emphasized that regulators lack authority over environmental harms linked to oil production.
- The decision aids major oil and gas companies, including billionaire Philip Anschutz, who owns local oil wells and whose ties prompted Justice Gorsuch's recusal.
55 Articles
55 Articles
The Conversation
Supreme Court changes the game on federal environmental reviews
A pumpjack in eastern Utah extracts oil from underground. AP Photo/Rick BowmerGetting federal approval for permits to build bridges, wind farms, highways and other major infrastructure projects has long been a complicated and time-consuming process. Despite growing calls from both parties for Congress and federal agencies to reform that process, there had been few significant revisions – until now. In one fell swoop, the U.S. Supreme Court has c…
The Supreme Court Just Started a Permitting Revolution - R Street Institute
Data supports the idea that NEPA holds back clean energy projects, but that is partly because it holds back so many kinds of projects. The R Street Institute, a center-right think tank, has found that 42% of projects stalled by NEPA involved green infrastructure or conservation. The post The Supreme Court Just Started a Permitting Revolution appeared first on R Street Institute.
The Supreme Court Just Started a Permitting Revolution
A new chapter opened for one of the country’s most important environmental laws this week.On Thursday, the Supreme Court transformed the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, an environmental permitting law that affects virtually every decision that the federal government makes. The quasi-unanimous ruling limits the law’s scope and cuts off future avenues for challenging energy and infrastructure projects under the law. It could reshape th…
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