DOE Faces Pitched Battle Over NEPA Exclusions For Clean Energy Funds

The Department of Energy (DOE) is facing a host of competing comments on establishing new categorical exclusions (CEs) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to distribute billions of dollars in new clean energy funds, with industry pushing to broadly expand CEs while environmentalists seek significant guardrails. Some environmental groups are also urging the Biden DOE to rescind a Trump-era CE for liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects due to concerns that the projects will undermine the nation’s climate goals and...