| name | environmental-impact-statement |
| title | Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) |
| description | Drafts NEPA-compliant Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) under 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq. as amended by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (Pub. L. 118-5). Covers purpose and need, alternatives analysis, affected environment, environmental consequences, mitigation, and public involvement. Reflects 2023 statutory page limits and deadlines and the April 11, 2025 rescission of CEQ's NEPA implementing regulations (formerly 40 C.F.R. Parts 1500–1508). Anchors on lead-agency NEPA implementing procedures, which now control. Use when preparing federal EIS documents, NEPA compliance analyses, or environmental impact assessments for proposed federal actions. |
| author | CaseMark |
| author_url | https://github.com/CaseMark/skills/tree/main/skills/legal/environmental-impact-statement |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| version | 0.1.0 |
| execution_mode | open |
| jurisdiction | us |
| practice | environmental |
| language | en |
| tags | ["regulatory","drafting","analysis"] |
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
Drafts a NEPA-compliant EIS analyzing environmental consequences of a proposed federal action across all required resource categories and alternatives.
Authority status (read first)
NEPA practice in 2026 is materially different from pre-2023 practice. Anchor the analysis on:
- NEPA itself — 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq., as amended by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (Pub. L. 118-5, June 3, 2023). New / amended provisions of central importance:
- § 4332(2)(C) — content requirements for the detailed statement.
- § 4336 — threshold and EA framework.
- § 4336a — page limits, deadlines, lead/cooperating agencies, sponsor preparation.
- § 4336b — programmatic environmental documents.
- § 4336c — categorical exclusions adopted by other agencies.
- CEQ regulations are no longer binding. CEQ rescinded its NEPA implementing regulations (formerly 40 C.F.R. Parts 1500–1508) by Interim Final Rule on Feb 25, 2025, effective April 11, 2025; codified by Final Rule Jan 8, 2026. Federal agencies now rely on their own NEPA implementing procedures.
- Lead-agency procedures control — the practitioner must identify and apply the lead agency's NEPA procedures. Common examples:
- USDA — 7 CFR Part 1b (revised 2025 IFR).
- DOE — 10 CFR Part 1021.
- DOI — 43 CFR Part 46.
- FHWA — 23 CFR Part 771.
- FAA — FAA Order 1050.1F.
- USACE — 33 CFR Part 230.
- EPA (when EPA leads NEPA analysis) — agency-specific procedures published in 2025.
- Statutory page and time limits (per § 4336a):
- EIS: 150 pages maximum (300 pages for proposed actions of "extraordinary complexity"); 2-year deadline from determination that an EIS is required.
- EA: 75 pages maximum; 1-year deadline.
- Page limits exclude citations and appendices.
- Marin Audubon v. FAA (D.C. Cir. Nov 2024) held that CEQ lacks statutory authority to issue binding NEPA regulations. The Trump administration's Executive Order 14154 (Jan 2025) directed rescission. Subsequent litigation may reshape this; verify current state.
For verification dates and complete authority record, see references/AUTHORITY-STATUS.md. For document structure detail, see references/EIS-STRUCTURE.md.
