5/28/2025

N. WISCONSIN - The House budget bill would reform environmental permitting in Wisconsin and nationwide, potentially streamlining the process and reducing litigation exposure.

The House budget bill would reform environmental permitting in Wisconsin and nationwide, potentially streamlining the process and reducing litigation exposure. Under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, large projects with the potential to affect the environment must complete environmental assessments or impact statements. This includes all federal agencies, and impacts private development projects that need federal permits. The new provision would create an expedited review process for a fee of 25 percent on top of the usual cost of a NEPA review. Thomas Hochman with the Foundation for American Innovation says the new rule would also shield projects from NEPA-related litigation.

:16  "There are quotes from folks like an outgoing EPA General Counsel, who say 90% of the details in a NEPA review are purely there for litigation-proofing the document. You can imagine if you only need 10% of the details in that environmental impact statement, because you know that you are not at risk of litigation, that is almost certainly a radically faster timeline."

Tag:  NEPA reform has been attempted by both parties in Congress in recent years, but it couldn't get passed in the Senate. This is the first time it's been attempted in the budget reconciliation process. Last September, the Cardinal-Hickory Creek clean energy power transmission line connecting Wisconsin and Iowa began operating after more than a decade of planning and multiple periods of litigation delay.

Second Cut: In court, federal agencies have an 80 percent success rate on appeal and their environmental reviews are not often changed through litigation. One study of NEPA reviews shows solar energy projects face the highest litigation rate. Frequent litigation was also seen with pipelines, transmission lines and wind energy projects. Despite shortening the process, Hochman says the reforms may also make projects subject to shifting political agendas.

:19  "If you let each administration determine what the cost is, and also spend time determining what the cost should be, you can potentially see differences in treatment. So, you know, maybe a Republican administration drags their feet and puts out a really high cost for a wind project that's going through an environmental impact statement. Maybe a Democratic administration does the same for a pipeline that's going through environmental impact statement."

Tag:  Projects may still face litigation under other environmental laws such as the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.