NEPA Section 112 added

The environmental policy of the United States is found in NEPA Section 101(a) and states "...it is the continuing policy of the Federal Government, in cooperation with state and local governments, and other concerned public and private organizations, to use all practicable means and measures, including financial and technical assistance, in a manner calculated to foster and promote the general welfare, to create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans."

NEPA and its implementing regulations were very stable until 2020, when the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), which was created by Title II of the NEPA statute, rewrote the regulations in such a way as to subvert NEPA's purposes and intent. In 2023, the NEPA statute itself was amended as a stipulation in the Fiscal Responsibility Act and debt ceiling extension. In January 2025, the CEQ was directed by Executive Order 14154, Unleashing American Energy, to rescind its regulations, which occurred April 11, 2025.

On July 4, 2025, the reconciliation bill was signed into law and it had a provision to amend NEPA by adding a new Section 112, which concerns project sponsors/applicants paying the government 125% of the anticipated costs to supervise preparation of, and, as applicable prepare the environmental assessment (EA) or environmental impact statement (EIS). Sometimes this is referred to as "pay to play." An EA is supposed to be completed within 180 days of paying the fee and an EIS in one year from the date of publication of the notice of intent to prepare an EIS. Both of these timelines are arbitrary because how long it takes to prepare an EA or EIS depends on many things such as the project scope and complexity, technical difficulty, personnel and fiscal resources available at the agency, public interest, and litigation.