Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Nepa And Blm Notices topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Officials briefed on NEPA rule rollback, pending litigation and BLM amendments affecting local projects
Summary
A county representative updated commissioners on federal NEPA regulatory changes, a remanded litigation decision the county must address, and BLM notices of intent to amend records of decision for Rock Springs and Buffalo coal leasing; commissioners were told there is a 30-day federal comment window on related requests for information.
A county representative identified as Julia briefed the Weston County Board of County Commissioners on recent federal regulatory activity affecting land-use reviews and permitting, telling the board the administration is moving federal policy back toward the 2023 NEPA statute and that agencies are being asked to craft their own NEPA procedures.
Julia told commissioners the 10th U.S. Circuit Court remanded a decision back to a local entity in Wyoming—she referenced remand to "Scabdol in Wyoming"—on the grounds that the agency’s range of alternatives in an environmental review was inadequate. "We do have this litigation that's looming over us because it got remanded back to the court," she said, and added that the decision was not vacated but must be remedied.
She said the Department of the Interior’s regulatory reform request for comment had a deadline (the transcript referenced a deadline of Monday the 21st) and that stakeholder groups including the Wyoming County Commissioners Association (WCCA), state agencies and trades were drafting comments. Julia said several agencies (DOI, USDA, DOE, FERC and the Army Corps) published requests for information in the Federal Register, with a 30‑day comment period on legal procedures.
On procedures and timing, Julia described expectations drawn from the 2023 statute: agencies were being directed to meet new timeline and page limits — she said an environmental assessment (EA) was expected to be completed within about one year and an environmental impact statement (EIS) within about two years, and that agencies are developing their separate NEPA procedures now that CEQ regulatory changes were not in force.
Julia also said the BLM had issued a notice of intent to amend a record of decision for a Rock Springs matter and that BLM had opened a 30‑day scoping comment period related to an amended decision in Buffalo on coal leasing; she urged interested parties to stay engaged.
Commissioners asked questions about cooperating-agency status and the county’s ability to participate in and affect federal reviews. Julia said counties are emphasizing cooperating agency status and consistency reviews to remain "at the table" in federal processes and to protect locally adopted plans.
No board action was taken; the briefing was informational and county staff said they will participate in the federal comment process and follow developments on the remanded litigation and BLM amendments.
