The US Navy will now follow the Pentagon's environmental rules, not its own

The US Navy is getting rid of its own rules for environmental reviews. Instead, it will follow new, broader rules set by the Department of Defense. This means all branches of the US military will now use the same process for assessing environmental impacts.

For decades, each branch of the US military had its own specific rules for environmental reviews, even though they all stemmed from the same federal law. This often led to different standards and processes across the services. Now, the Navy will fall under a single set of Pentagon-wide procedures, which could streamline environmental assessments for projects involving multiple military branches. It also means less bureaucracy for the Navy, as it no longer needs to maintain its own separate rulebook.