Don’t undermine local voices in environmental decisions

April 27, 2018

Poll after poll has shown that a large segment of the electorate supported President Trump precisely because he was so unacceptable to elites. These voters believe, with some justification, that elites tune out their voices. Voting for President Trump, and supporting him despite his difficulties, is these voters’ way of demanding to be heard.

How ironic it is, then, that some Republicans who benefited from this disaffection are seeking to eviscerate one of the few federal laws that assures ordinary people and small businesses a voice before the government takes action that could radically impact their lives. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), on which the House Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing Wednesday, is best-known for its role in protecting vulnerable wildlife and the cleanliness of our air and water. But it is also a vital citizen empowerment statute.

No one doubts the importance to a manufacturing-dependent community when a factory shuts down. In the many communities whose economies depend on recreation and tourism, precisely the same concerns apply when a logging or drilling project threatens to despoil the forests or beaches that bring visitors to their areas.

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The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a critical law that has helped local communities protect themselves and their environment from dangerous, rushed, and poorly planned federal projects for over 45 years.

We teach our children to “look before you leap.” The NEPA process simply and sensibly requires our government to do the same by identifying any significant impacts a project may have on our health, environment, and livelihood before construction begins.

NEPA and its implementing procedures provide a strong foundation for informed, science-based decision-making and already provide ample flexibility.

As such, I am strongly opposed to CEQ’s proposed rule as well as any other changes to NEPA’s implementing procedures that would in any way restrict public input, limit consideration of project alternatives, establish hard deadlines for project approval, or narrow or eliminate federal agencies’ obligations to consider a project’s climate impacts.

I urge CEQ to abandon this rulemaking process altogether.

By signing this petition, I acknowledge that I may receive email updates from Protect NEPA coalition partners.

The Protect NEPA campaign works with a coalition of over twenty of the country’s largest environmental, labor, and civil rights advocacy groups – including Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife, Natural Resources Defense Council, and League of Conservation Voters – to advance and defend NEPA across a broad range of key issue areas.

Don’t undermine local voices in environmental decisions

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