The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday said it would help defend Trump administration updates to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that were designed to minimize reviews and hasten approvals of proposed infrastructure projects, including natural gas and oil pipelines.

natural gas pipeline project status

At issue is the White House Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ)’s overhaul of NEPA and new legal challenges to it before they are scheduled to take effect in September.

The CEQ’s final rule, the first updates to NEPA in more than 40 years, would remove constraints on constructing natural gas and oil pipelines, power plants and other major infrastructure projects. NEPA, which touches almost every major infrastructure project in the country, requires thorough impact assessments and allows for...