CEQ Eviscerates NEPA, Communities Pay the Price

Today, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) eliminated all of the rules that implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the foundational law that protects people and the environment by requiring the federal government to consider and disclose the environmental consequences if its decisions. NEPA often provides the only opportunity for impacted people to participate in government decision-making that bears directly on their health and prosperity. The Trump administration short-circuited public notice and comment and purported to revoke rules that have guided both Republican and Democratic administrations for over 50 years. CEQ also issued further guidance on how federal agencies should implement NEPA in the absence of longstanding rules.

“This is the latest play to slash and burn safeguards with zero care for the consequences in real life,” said Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen. “This move won’t improve decision-making or make the government more effective. Tossing out the rules that have been in place for 50 years is a recipe for chaos and gridlock. As intended, eliminating all the NEPA rules will ‘unleash’ oil and gas development under the guise of a fake energy emergency. Much more sweepingly, it endangers the essentials that only our government can reliably protect, including clean air and water.”

In late January, President Donald Trump issued the “Unleashing American Energy” executive order that ordered CEQ to propose rescinding NEPA regulations in favor of issuing guidance to federal agencies.