On its 50th anniversary, bedrock conservation law faces serious threats
Despite five decades of success, key conservation law is target of anti-conservation proposals.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the “Bill of Rights” for the environment, the Trump administration plans to destroy it.
What NEPA Does
NEPA is like a Bill of Rights for water we drink, the air we breathe and the land we live on. It safeguards the health of humans as well as the environment.
By ensuring that people have the right to know how government activities impact the environment, NEPA enshrines our most fundamental democratic values into federal decision making. The public has a right to weigh in on these matters, thanks to NEPA.
NEPA requires a science-based look at pollution and environmental threats that might otherwise go undetected until it’s too late. The law provides a fair and transparent pathway to sound decision-making about federal actions that affect local communities.
Rule to Rollback NEPA Expected in 2020
Now the Trump administration plans to issue a rule in 2020 that would drastically limit transparency, limit public participation and roll back the NEPA processes that shed daylight on potential environmental dangers.
For an administration that denies climate change, devalues science and boasts a long list of assaults on environmental protections, this latest attack may feel predictable or “normal” for this administration.
But undermining NEPA would turn back the clock to a time when polluted water, toxic dumps and environmental destruction were tolerated. A rule of this magnitude would give a free pass to polluters and suggest that polluters control our environmental agencies and the health of our communities.
Background
- Wilderness Society statement on USFS NEPA draft rule, “Conservation groups blast draft Forest Service rule to gut bedrock environmental law,” August 2019.
- Wilderness Society blog, “People need to know what the government is doing to the environment,” July 2019 update.
- Coalition letter to Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), Comments on Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, August 2018.
How NEPA Is Succeeding Locally – Examples, Case Studies
- NEPA Success Stories, Map and state-by-state stories, The Partnership Project.
- Natural Resources Defense Council, “Never Eliminate Public Advice: NEPA Success Stories,” (2015). Examples by state.
- Environmental Law Institute, Partnership Project, “NEPA Success Stories: Celebrating 40 Years of Transparency and Open Government,” (2010).
Contacts
Michael Reinemer, Deputy Director Communications Strategy, The Wilderness Society, , michael_reinemer@tws.org, 202-429-3949.
Alison Flint, Director of Litigation and Agency Policy, The Wilderness Society, alison_flint@tws.org, 303-802-1404.
