More than 340 public interest organizations from across the country formally submitted comments on Friday urging the White House Council on Environmental Quality to abandon its reckless and unprecedented attempts to rewrite the implementing procedures of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The Act, written partly in response to 1960s highway revolts protesting the destruction of communities and ecosystems, has long been considered a bipartisan core of American environmental law. It passed the Senate unanimously when first considered. 

Raul Garcia, Earthjustice Senior Legislative Counsel, issued the following statement:

“The National Environmental Policy Act was written in response to some of the most significant environmental and civil rights issues in modern history. And yet here, in the middle of August, with limited opportunity for public input at a time when millions of Americans are on vacation, the Trump administration appears to be embarking on a sweeping rewrite of the law. Simply put, it’s unacceptable that the administration could roll back the core protections this law affords without seriously listening to the voices of all Americans.

“Instead of persisting with this sham of a rule-making process, let’s work together to strengthen environmental protections for all communities.”

Read the coalition’s comments.