Press Release

January 09, 2020

Proposed NEPA Rollback Rejects Realities of Climate Change, Tries to Silence Public

With proposed overhaul of the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, Trump’s administration is seeking to lessen public input on the environmental impacts of federal projects such as highways or oil and gas pipelines.

“The Midwest public highly values safe clean water and healthy clean air. NEPA is vital for ensuring that energy and transportation projects are fully and fairly evaluated and the public has a chance to engage,” said Environmental Law & Policy Center Executive Director Howard A. Learner. “With this proposal the Trump administration is limiting consideration of climate change realities and limiting public engagement.

“For nearly 50 years, NEPA has guided how every federal agency conducts reviews of the environmental impacts of major projects. If finalized, these new weak regulations will weaken environmental reviews for any project that receives any funding, permitting or work from any federal agency in any community in any state or territory in America.”