Request Denied for Preliminary Injunction on the Administration’s Landmark New Regulations Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act

On Friday, Sept. 11, Judge James T. Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia denied a request for a preliminary injunction against the Administration’s landmark new regulations implementing under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which will modernize environmental review, enhance the information-gathering process, and facilitate more meaningful public participation in the protection of our environment.  These regulations had not been subject to a major revision since 1978, when they were first promulgated, and they were in need of modernization to improve the infrastructure permitting process.

“We are gratified that the Court rejected plaintiff’s injunction request, and the Department will continue to defend these vital rules,” said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen. “The modernization of the NEPA process advances both environmental protection and economic development.”

“I am pleased to have argued this case for the President’s Council of Environmental Quality and that Judge Jones agreed to deny the nationwide preliminary injunction,” said Jeffrey Bossert Clark, Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.