Trump Administration Unleashes Across-the-Board Regulatory Weakening of Key Environmental Law

Today, multiple federal agencies revoked longstanding regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In some cases, new regulations were proposed to replace them; in others, the regulations are replaced by nonbinding guidance. In all cases, the regulations significantly weaken the implementation of the statute by cutting the public out of NEPA reviews and eliminating all references to consider climate change, environmental justice, and other crucial environmental issues. Agencies taking action today include the Department of Agriculture (which includes the U.S. Forest Service), the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Other federal agencies are expected to issue similar standards in the days ahead.

Earthjustice Vice President of Litigation Andre Segura issued the following statement:

“NEPA — the People’s Environmental Law — plays a vital role in ensuring that government decisions are transparent, well-informed, and accountable to the public. Collectively, today’s actions reverse that promise and fundamentally undermine the public’s ability to participate in federal decision-making processes. The Biden administration made explicitly clear the requirements that agencies consider climate change, environmental justice, and local communities when performing NEPA reviews. The Trump administration has thrown those standards in the trash and cut people out of the people’s environmental law.”