New Data Shows Biden-⁠Harris Administration Improved Speed of Federal Permitting and Environmental Reviews

Updated analysis shows that the most complex form of environmental reviews has been completed eight months faster during the Biden-Harris Administration

WASHINGTON — As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s all-of-government effort to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of federal permitting processes, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) today released new data on environmental impact statements (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that shows measurable improvement in EIS timelines during the Biden-Harris Administration. This data updates a previous CEQ analysis published in June 2020.

The new analysis shows that the Biden-Harris Administration reduced the median time to complete an EIS by eight months, or 23 percent faster than during the previous administration. These results come after the Biden-Harris Administration took historic steps to accelerate and improve the federal permitting process, including an investment of more than $1 billion from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, implementation of the Biden-Harris Permitting Action Plan, and an update to CEQ’s regulations to simplify and modernize the federal environmental review process.

“The Biden-Harris Administration has taken comprehensive action to modernize the federal permitting process, and the numbers show we got results,” said Brenda Mallory, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “Under President Biden and Vice President Harris, federal agencies are completing environmental reviews for the most complex projects eight months faster than our predecessors, while also expanding the use of expedited environmental reviews for simpler and lower-impact projects. We are building faster, better, and more efficiently while engaging early with communities, proving that you do not have to choose between quicker permitting and protecting people from pollution and environmental harms.”

The report focuses on timelines for EISs, the most complex form of environmental review that accounts for roughly one percent of environmental analyses under NEPA. CEQ found that EISs completed between 2021 and 2024 took a median time of 2.4 years to complete from time of the notice of intent (NOI) to the final EIS, with 39 percent completed within 2 years. For final EISs issued in 2024, the median time from NOI to final EIS was 2.2 years and approximately 41 percent of final EISs issued in 2024 were completed in 2 years or less. These figures are significantly improved compared to the period from 2017 to 2020 when the median time was 3.1 years with 27 percent completed within 2 years. Additional data and a full analysis are available HERE.

The new data shows the effectiveness of three core components of the Biden-Harris Administration’s approach to improve the quality and speed of environmental reviews and permitting, including:

• Investing $1 billion through the Inflation Reduction Act to hire experts and invest in new technologies to expedite environmental reviews at federal agencies.

• Working with Congress to pass legislative reforms to modernize NEPA for the first time in 50 years and finalizing CEQ’s Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule to accelerate the federal environmental review process while promoting early public engagement.

• Using executive authorities to improve permitting and environmental review processes through early and meaningful consultation with states, Tribal Nations, and local governments; prioritizing senior agency engagement in managing project timelines; and implementing dozens of executive actions across the federal government to accelerate permitting.  

Approximately 99 percent of environmental reviews under NEPA are completed through either environmental assessments or categorical exclusions, a faster review process that has expanded during the Biden-Harris Administration. The data in this new report is consistent with the findings issued earlier in the Administration showing that under President Biden, federal agencies are delivering projects more quickly while being responsible stewards of the environment and protecting communities from pollution and environmental harm.

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