Conservation, Environmental Justice, Tribal, and Civil Rights Organizations Submit Comment Letter Opposing Proposed NEPA Changes at Various Federal Agencies
"Over a dozen different sets of procedures and processes with little meaningful input from impacted communities will only result in more pollution, dirtier air, and contaminated water for all of us.”
Contacts
Geoffrey Nolan, gnolan@earthjustice.org
This week, over 200 conservation, environmental justice, civil rights, and tribal organizations sent a comment letter to over a dozen federal agencies opposing changes to the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The comment periods for the interim final rules (IFRs) closed on August 4.
The comment periods follow a series of actions by the Trump sdministration that seek to weaken NEPA. In February 2025, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) eliminated its regulations implementing NEPA. In June 2025, multiple federal agencies initiated a process to revoke their previous regulations and craft new ones.
“The Trump administration is trying to cut the people out of the people’s environmental law” said Earthjustice Senior Attorney Jan Hasselman. “Confusion, chaos, and a total lack of transparency are what we’ve come to expect from the Trump administration. Over a dozen different sets of procedures and processes with little meaningful input from impacted communities will only result in more pollution, dirtier air, and contaminated water for all of us.”
NEPA is the foundational law that protects people and the environment by requiring the federal government to consider and disclose the environmental consequences if its decisions. It often provides the only opportunity for impacted people to participate in government decision-making that bears directly on their health, environment, and prosperity.
“While procedural efficiency is important, it must never come at the expense of Tribal Nations or frontline communities who bear the brunt of environmental degradation and public health burdens,” wrote the groups. “Agencies must ensure their NEPA procedures are aligned with the law’s purpose: to make informed, equitable decisions that safeguard the people and the planet. Any departure from that standard not only violates NEPA — it will not withstand legal scrutiny.”
In addition to the group sign-on letter, Earthjustice submitted detailed technical comments to multiple federal agencies opposing the Trump administration’s changes. See examples of these letters to the Department of Interior, Department of Agriculture (which oversee the Forest Service), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Additional Resources
About Earthjustice
Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people's health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.