On April 20, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) finalized the Phase 1 rule as part of its two-phase rulemaking process for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This process was initiated as a response to the dramatic rollbacks to the NEPA implementing regulations adopted by the Trump Administration. NEPA is the foundational law for ensuring that people have a voice in federal decision-making. NEPA guides the environmental review process for major federal activities that impact the environment, public health, and livelihoods around the country.

This Phase 1 final rule is an important step that reverses some of the most harmful rollbacks to critical NEPA protections. Many WPN members have urged CEQ to use the upcoming Phase 2 rulemaking, expected this summer, to fully restore the 1978 NEPA regulations and then build on those regulations to advance environmental justice, ensure effective evaluation of alternatives and impacts including climate change impacts, increase transparency, and improve public engagement. Please stay tuned for the opportunity to join a large sign-on letter to CEQ emphasizing some of these key priorities for the Phase 2 NEPA rule.

At the end of March, the White House released the President's Budget for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23). In early April, the Corps of Engineers released its FY23 budget press book, which details the amount of funding that would go to individual projects and programs. The Corps' budget press book provides an overview of all Corps Civil Works funding by business line, and provides project-specific breakdowns by state for the Corps' study, construction, operations and maintenance, and Mississippi River & Tributaries accounts.
 

WPN member American Rivers has released its annual list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers®. This year’s report spotlights ten rivers where climate change and injustice are putting the water supplies and well-being of tens of millions of people at risk. For each river, the report calls for specific solutions, amplifying the leadership of Tribal Nations and frontline advocates. The 2022 America’s Most Endangered Rivers® are:

1. Colorado River (CO, UT, AZ, NV, CA, WY, NM, Mexico), threatened by climate change and outdated water management
2. Snake River (ID, WA, OR), threatened by four federal dams
3. Mobile River (AL), threatened by coal ash contamination 
4. Maine’s Atlantic Salmon Rivers (ME), threatened by dams
5. Coosa River (TN, GA, AL), threatened by agricultural pollution
6. Mississippi River (MN, WI, IL, IA, MO, KY, TN, AR, MS, LA), threatened by pollution and habitat loss
7. Lower Kern River (CA), threatened by excessive water withdrawals 
8. San Pedro River (AZ), threatened by excessive water pumping and loss of Clean Water Act protections
9. Los Angeles River (CA), threatened by development and pollution
10. Tar Creek (OK), threatened by pollution

Below is a non-comprehensive list of recent Corps of Engineers public notices from the Federal Register and Corps district websites, and select notices from other federal agencies. Please visit FederalRegister.gov, Corps division and district websites, and other federal agencies' websites for additional public notices. Click here for examples of comments and letters submitted to the Corps by WPN members.
 

Corps of Engineers Notices

• Published 4/18: Wahkon, MN, Sanitary Sewer System Improvement Project Draft Environmental Assessment (Comment deadline 5/18)
• Published 4/15: West Shore Lake Pontchartrain Risk Reduction Study environmental documents re-released for review, LA (Comment deadline 5/30)
• Published 4/14: Occupational Safety and Health Programs for Federal Employees (Comment deadline 6/13)
• Published 4/08: Harris Reservoir Expansion Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement, TX (Comment deadline 5/23; virtual public meetings on 5/03)
• Published 4/07: DRAFT Detailed Project Report and Environmental Assessment (DPR/EA) and Unsigned Finding of No Significant Impact for Section 202 Flood Damage Reduction for areas in Bell County, KY impacted by the April 1977 flood (Comment deadline 5/09)
• Published 4/01: Thousand Palms Flood Control Project Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement, CA (Comment deadline 5/16)
• Published 4/01: South Central Coast Study Supplemental Draft Integrated Feasibility Study with Environmental Impact Statement, LA (Comment deadline 5/16)
• Published 3/31: PolyMet Mine NorthMet Project, MN (Comment deadline 6/06 by 5pm CST; hybrid public hearing 5/3-5/5)
• Published 3/29: Proposed Reissuance of Regional General Permit 1 for Minimal Impact Activities, East Contra Costa County, CA (Comment deadline 4/28)
• Published 3/28: Notice of Virtual Public and Tribal Meetings Regarding the Review of Nationwide Permit 12 for Oil or Natural Gas Pipeline Activities; Establishment of a Public Docket; Request for Input (Comment deadline 5/27; virtual tribal meetings on 5/11 and 5/18; virtual public meetings on 5/10, 5/12, 5/17, and 5/19)
• Published 3/23: Huber Engineered Woods Frontier Project, Itasca County, MN (Comment deadline 4/25)
• Published 3/22: Notice of Solicitation of Applications for Stakeholder Representative Members of the Committee on Levee Safety (Application deadline 5/06)

Other Agency Notices

• Published 4/20: Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ): National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations Revisions (Effective 5/20)
• Published 4/18: Department of Interior: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment, Florida Trustee Implementation Group Draft Phase V.4 Florida Coastal Access Project: Restoration Plan and Supplemental Environmental Assessment (Comment deadline 5/18)
• Published 3/16: CEQ: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery (Comment deadline 5/16)
• Published 2/23: CEQ: Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool Beta Version (Response deadline 4/25)