USDA quietly grants itself the power to decide which projects need environmental review
The public comment period meant to legitimize the rule produced a comment identifying that the rule eliminates a different public comment period.
What happened
The Agriculture Department is finalizing rules for environmental reviews of farm projects. This means the process for approving new projects will now follow updated guidelines that were put in place after broader federal environmental rules changed.
Why it matters
The Agriculture Department has adopted new rules for environmental reviews of its projects. These changes align USDA's process with updated federal standards. This could speed up approvals for certain agricultural developments, though it does not appear to introduce new environmental hurdles.
The signal
Earthjustice, having already filed formal public comments flagging the elimination of draft EIS public notice requirements as inadequately noticed, is the likely next actor. A district court challenge on APA procedural grounds could arrive within 12 months, targeting the same structural vulnerability that sank the 2020 APHIS reforms.
The USDA rewrote its environmental review rules for the first time since the 1990s. Which projects get the faster approval track was not included, but the rules are very much updated.