Trump gutted environmental review: time to restore it!
John,
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), one of America’s most important environmental laws, empowers affected communities and the public to raise concerns about the environmental impacts of proposed projects involving federal activity.
But in 2020, the Trump administration drastically limited NEPA’s effectiveness to fast-track dirty projects, limit review of climate change impacts, and keep communities in the dark. The Biden administration has worked to reverse many of these dangerous rollbacks, and is currently accepting public comment on new proposed regulations.
To continue to reverse Trump’s damage, we need the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to strengthen and quickly finalize the proposed regulations, which will help ensure frontline communities have a way to fight polluting projects that threaten our air, water, and climate.
Here is some sample comment language to get you started:
I urge the Council on Environmental Quality to strengthen and quickly finalize the new proposed National Environmental Policy Act regulations to help ensure frontline communities have a way to fight polluting projects that threaten our air, water, and climate.
The Trump administration’s changes to how the federal government reviewed the environmental impacts of projects were drastic and dangerous. The Biden administration has worked to reverse this regulatory disaster and restore NEPA. But it must do more to strengthen and quickly finalize the proposed regulations.
Maintain their focus on climate change and environmental justice;
Further recognize the interests of Indigenous communities and peoples;
Require the preparation of an environmental impact statement for any action significantly affecting the environment, even if the impacts are purportedly beneficial;
Rein in the use of “categorical exclusions” to ensure environmental impacts are not overlooked;
Increase transparency and protect participatory rights by requiring that decision-making documents be made public; and
Provide additional guidance to ensure that federally-assisted projects are properly subject to NEPA.
Now is our opportunity to influence how the final rule takes form. We should all have a say in what gets built in our communities – especially when it comes to polluting fossil fuel and factory farm infrastructure that threatens our livable future.
Food & Water Watch and its affiliated organization, Food & Water Action, are advocacy groups with a common mission to protect our food, water and climate.
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