New Rule Undercuts NEPA, Putting Wildlife and People at Risk

Today, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) announced a final rule eviscerating the long-standing regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In the name of “efficiency” and “streamlining,” the new rule seeks to promote the rapid development of infrastructure and domestic energy projects at the expense of transparency and public involvement.  

NEPA, enacted in 1969, is considered the Magna Carta of environmental and government transparency laws in the U.S. It ensures that federal agencies take environmental impacts into account in their decision-making, and disclose the potential impacts to the public. Public comments have been a crucial safeguard for the nation’s environment for more than 50 years.  

By drastically narrowing the scope of the required environmental impact analysis, the amended regulations will dramatically weaken our ability to tackle the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. The regulations prioritize profit over protecting clean air and water, vulnerable and marginalized communities, cultural resources and historic sites, and wildlife and habitats. 

Jamie Rappaport Clark, Former president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife, issued the following statement:  

“Gutting the regulations implementing NEPA, the backbone of our nation’s environmental laws, is beyond reckless. Without a robust review process, government agencies will blindly make decisions that ignore environmental risks and circumvent the public’s ability to understand and weigh in on decisions that affect their health, communities, environment and wildlife.  

“Even while threatened by a global pandemic and the escalating loss of  biodiversity, this administration is intent on destroying the law that protects our environment and gives a voice to marginalized communities of color, who often bear the burden of environmental injustice. We will fight for the communities and imperiled wildlife that this administration would rather ignore.”  

Background:  

• On January 10, 2020, the Trump administration proposed new NEPA regulations that fundamentally alter the statute’s implementing procedures in ways that are certain to have damaging effects on wildlife, habitats and communities.  
• On February 25, 2020, Jamie Rappaport Clark, Former president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife, testified in support of NEPA to the Department of the Interior and spoke to NEPA supporters outside afterward.  
• Defenders of Wildlife submitted detailed technical comments on the proposed regulation and joined additional technical comments by national and regional coalition partners. 
• NEPA recognizes the importance of a healthy environment for our well-being and our economy. The long-standing NEPA regulations lay out a sound set of procedures to ensure the federal government has thought through the consequences of its actions, explored alternative approaches to achieving its objectives and transparently involved the public in its decision-making.   
• Previous statement from Former Defenders of Wildlife President and CEO  Jamie Rappaport Clark.  
• NEPA background from Defenders of Wildlife’s publication “Reasonably Foreseeable Futures: Climate Change Adaptation and the National Environmental Policy Act.”