Trump administration seeks to disassemble bedrock NEPA protections

WASHINGTON — Late yesterday the Trump administration announced an interim final rule seeking to rescind National Environmental Policy Act regulations, following an executive order last month directing the Council on Environmental Quality to nullify rules that it has implemented for more than 50 years.  

NEPA, the nation’s oldest federal environmental law, is one of the strongest tools available for communities to engage and give input on major decisions that impact their health and safety.

The interim rule does nothing to change the fact that the statute must still be followed. Instead, the elimination of longstanding guidance will exacerbate confusion about how agencies should apply it and runs counter to the administration’s intended goals of expediting the process and will in fact increase delays for important projects. The rule purports to eliminate consideration of environmental justice or cumulative impacts, thus stopping exactly the types of clear-headed analyses necessary to make progress tackling climate change and environmental injustice.      

“Communities should have an easy way to learn about major projects that impact them, and an opportunity to voice concerns,” said SELC Litigation Director, Kym Meyer. “This new ‘guidance’ simply makes that process more confusing and difficult. Rather than speeding up project delivery, this latest move from the Trump administration is going to slow projects down. Still, the bedrock NEPA statute remains the law of the land. Just as has been true for the past 50 years, agencies are still required to take a careful look at the projects they propose and ensure robust public engagement and a transparent process.”

Communities rely on NEPA to better understand the impacts of large projects, like pipelines and highways, and early collaboration with affected communities helps identify conflicts, present solutions, and set good projects up for success. Throughout the South, NEPA has played a historically important role in informing projects with quality environmental analysis and meaningful community engagement, including:

• Lower Cowpasture Restoration project in the George Washington National Forest (VA): Developed through an open, collaborative NEPA process involving stakeholders from the timber industry and environmental and wildlife groups, the project was a resounding success, resulting in consensus support for substantially more timber management than would have been widely acceptable otherwise and support for designation of a new wilderness area.
• Business Highway 40 (NC): A project to improve a stretch of Business Highway 40 in downtown Winston-Salem, North Carolina, NCDOT determined that impacted communities might not have been involved in traditional public outreach. NCDOT worked with national experts to develop surveys, meetings, and printed materials to understand affected communities’ needs and preferences and as a result, chose to proceed with a faster two-year alternative supported by surrounding communities.
• Corridor K Highway Project (TN, NC): After a collaborative, multi-agency process determined that the purpose and need for the project was too narrow, stakeholders were able to agree on a lower-impact alternative after refining priorities and revising alternatives accordingly.