Nebraska is the latest state to align its deregulation efforts and assume more ownership of the environmental permitting and review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), joining Texas and Maine in efforts to build infrastructure faster and more efficiently.
The secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) issued a letter on July 17, 2025, calling on governors to assume the federal environmental review processus under NEPA. This would empower states to conduct environmental reviews and approvals on assigned projects as the lead federal agency, helping accelerate project timelines while cutting costs and giving states more control over their infrastructure projects.
Nebraska is the third state to answer this call to join USDOT under this new partnership model, following Texas in June 2025 and Maine earlier this year in January. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), each state will now conduct their own environmental reviews and remove federal red tape that has slowed progress on critical bridge and highway initiatives.
The states will be responsible for and liable for decision-making processes in environmental reviews, achieving full programmatic NEPA assignment for related assessments and impact statements for future transportation projects under the NEPA Assignment Program. The agreements afford several key benefits, including shortened project delivery timelines, decreased cost of project development, state capacity building and stronger relationships with stakeholders and public agencies.
As the latest state to sign the MOU, Nebraska will be able to move forward on several notable projects, including:
- The final segment of the Lincoln Easte Beltway project, consisting of a four-lane freeway from the east of the South Bypass that would connect to Interstate 80 near Waverly.
- Finishing the US-75 Corridor Study from I80 in Omaha to N0370 in Bellevue. The project would reconstruct pavement and structures and improve seven interchanges serving the Omaha metro area and several surrounding communities.
- Finishing the I-480 Corridor Study to improve mobility, safety and relieve congestion on I-480. The project would improve traffic flow, reduce frequency and severity of crashes and enhance corridor reliability.
- The city of Beatrice’s Court Street Access and Safety Transformation Project. The initiative would reroute US-136 a block south to increase safety in the downtown business area and enable the city to redevelop Court Street into a pedestrian-focused corridor.
The agreements serve as a model for other states interested in participating in USDOT’s “America is Building Again” agenda. The core goal of USDOT’s renewed focus on building transportation infrastructure centers around enhancing transportation safety, accelerating project delivery, increasing opportunities and strengthening partnerships. Each NEPA MOU functions as a core component of achieving those agenda goals.
Photo by Kindel Media from Pexels
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