Median years to complete an environmental impact statement

Why this row

The median environmental impact statement took 3.2 years in 2010 to 2018 and 2.2 years in 2024. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 set a two-year limit and a 150-page limit for most statements. The row asks the agencies to keep cutting at the pace they have already demonstrated and to hold every statement under the statutory limit. It is binding on the lead agencies and CEQ because the statement is theirs to finish. The audit counts projects moved to lesser reviews to avoid a statement. The Act's Mission Shot Clock makes those limits self-executing: a missed deadline is constructive completion of the agency's portion, finished by an independent contractor at the defaulting agency's expense.

The path

linear; the two-year statutory limit applies to every statement in every year

Each July 4 the row shows its baseline, this path, the latest official value and a status of ahead, on schedule or behind. As a binding row it also links the decisions by Federal lead agencies and CEQ that moved the number during the year.