By Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON (Reuters), Tuesday’s announcement by the White House stated that final regulations have been issued for environmental review of large infrastructure projects, such as pipelines and highways. They will consider climate impacts.

Now, the White House Council for Environmental Quality officially restores key provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act regulations (NEPA) that were in place prior to the Trump administration’s last-year overhaul. These rules had not been updated in decades.

The change will require federal agencies to consider the “direct,” “indirect,” and “cumulative” impacts of proposed projects or actions, including a full evaluation of climate change impacts and assessment of the impact of releasing additional pollution in communities that are already choked by polluted air or dirty water.

“Restoring these basic community safeguards will provide regulatory certainty, reduce conflict, and help ensure that projects get built right the first time,” said CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory.

The final rule requires an assessment of climate impact and empowers federal agencies with the ability to examine alternative design or approaches to company projects. It also allows for agencies to adopt stricter reviews than CEQ regulations.

Also, Tuesday’s announcement by the council indicated that it intends to submit a phase 2 NEPA rulemaking proposal in the next months. This will increase efficiency during review.

Trump’s former president in 2020 revised NEPA. He did this to expedite major projects, such as the Keystone XL oil pipe. Trump said that NEPA was entangled in bureaucratic red tape. This interfered with Trump’s focus on U.S. energy dominance.

The federal agencies were able to exempt the impact on the climate of projects through his NEPA reform, which allowed major fossil fuel projects to pass the approval process without legal problems.

Over the last few years, however, federal courts had ruled that NEPA required the federal government to consider a project’s carbon footprint in decisions relating to leasing public lands for drilling or building pipelines.