Defenders Slams Bill Aiming to Rollback NEPA and Gut Environmental Protections

In advance of its first hearing by the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources today, Defenders of Wildlife is announcing its staunch opposition to chairman Bruce Westerman’s (R-AR) draft National Environmental Policy Act bill.  
As written, the draft drastically undercuts NEPA by forbidding agencies from considering new scientific research, avoiding environmental reviews, and in some cases allowing projects to ignore NEPA entirely. It also poses an afront to judicial review by drastically limiting how communities can challenge projects that harm wildlife, recklessly expedites cases, and bars challenges to whether an exception to NEPA applies.

“This is not permitting reform; it is a flat out NEPA demolition,” said Robert Dewey, vice president of government relations for Defenders of Wildlife. “This draft is a threat to millions of acres of intact wilderness and the ecosystems that support countless species of wildlife and people.” 

NEPA requires that federal agencies assess and consider the effect their proposed actions may have on the environment and inform the public about them during the decision-making process. 

“This shortsighted legislation would regress our nation’s conservation efforts at a time when we need them most. We need to be fighting the biodiversity and climate change crises, not dismantling the very laws that are essential in our battle to win,” said Dewey.