LEGAL PLANET • September 7, 2025
On September 10, the House Natural Resources Committee will convene a hearing on the SPEED Act—the latest NEPA reform bill championed by Chairman Bruce Westerman. The bill includes provisions that would fundamentally compromise the integrity of federal decision making processes by allowing—or even compelling—the government to ignore scientific and technical information critical to understanding the effects of a federal action and how those effects could be mitigated. It is Orwellian indeed to require an agency to seek input from the public that the agency is expressly excused from having to consider. And if you’re wondering if this is an intended consequence, it clearly is, because the bill specifies that permitting agencies to ignore information in environmental review processes does not affect their obligation under the Administrative Procedure Act to respond to comment when issuing or revising regulations.