Today, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution from Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) that could undermine core provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations that were recently restored by the Biden administration. The most recent regulations reversed some of the harmful rollbacks of the Trump administration and clarifies the ongoing responsibility of agencies to consider the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of federal projects.

After the vote, Earthjustice Senior Legislative Counsel Stephen Schima issued the following statement:

“This vote isn’t a real solution. It’s a monumental waste of time that will only cause more confusion and delays for environmental review. With most project delays attributed to underfunded federal agencies, a real solution exists. The Inflation Reduction Act contains $1 billion in funding for environmental review processes that will ensure federal agencies can conduct robust environmental and NEPA reviews on large projects using federal funds while meaningfully engaging communities in the process. The voices of the people most impacted by these projects matter, and we remain committed to ensuring their concerns and needs are included in the decision-making process and funding federal agencies to do so.”