TagCouncil on Environmental Quality(8)

This document outlines principles and steps for conducting cumulative effects analysis in environmental impact assessments. It covers identifying cumulative effects issues, establishing geographic and temporal boundaries, and determining which effects are important from a cumulative perspective. https://ceq.doe.gov/docs/ceq-publications/ccenepa/sec2.pdf

In September 2025, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued updated non-binding guidance to federal agencies on how to conduct environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), replacing earlier guidance from February 2025. The update streamlines the permitting process by incorporating a recent Supreme Court ruling limiting the scope of required environmental analysis, removing climate change and environmental justice considerations, and introducing an optional fee-based program that cuts review timelines in half. Agencies are encouraged to revise their own NEPA procedures using a provided template while continuing existing review processes without delay.

In May 2024, the Council on Environmental Quality published major updates to the rules governing how federal agencies must review environmental impacts of projects, affecting everything from public participation to project timelines. The changes place new emphasis on environmental justice, requiring agencies to meaningfully engage communities facing disproportionate environmental burdens, and remove previous rules that limited who could challenge agency decisions in court. While some updates are designed to speed up the review process, others may add new requirements for agencies and project sponsors seeking federal permits or funding.

This 2005 memo from the White House Council on Environmental Quality instructs federal agencies on how to handle past actions when analyzing cumulative environmental impacts under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Agencies are not required to exhaustively catalog every past action, but must describe their current combined effects when those effects are relevant to a proposed action's foreseeable environmental impacts. The guidance emphasizes using the scoping process to focus analysis on truly significant cumulative effects rather than accumulating unnecessary background data.

A handbook by the Council on Environmental Quality providing framework and methods for analyzing cumulative effects in environmental assessments and impact statements under NEPA. The document outlines principles, steps, and data sources for cumulative effects analysis but does not establish new legal requirements.

Published in June 1980 by the Federal Interagency Committee on Urban Noise, this document provides guidelines for incorporating noise considerations into land use planning and control decisions. It was produced jointly by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Housing and Urban Development. The guidelines are intended to help planners and policymakers manage the impact of noise—such as that generated by airports like Sea-Tac—on surrounding communities through zoning and land use strategies.