President Trump
Donald John TrumpIvanka Trump launches Goya Foods products on Twitter Sessions defends the challenge: “I leave the elected office with my integrity intact” Former White House doctor Ronny Jackson wins the second round of Texas MORE A reversal of one of the nation’s fundamental environmental laws is expected to end on Wednesday in a move that critics say will be particularly damaging to minority communities.
The Trump administration is promoting changes to the 1970 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires environmental reviews of major construction and pipeline projects, as a way to reduce regulations, speed up energy and infrastructure projects, and give a boost to the economy.
The reversal, first proposed in January, is advancing amid intense tensions over racial injustice stemming from police brutality and the health disparities that the coronavirus exposes. Critics argue that Trump’s erosion of the 50-year protections will affect minority communities the most, as polluting industries have a disproportionate probability of locating in neighborhoods with large non-white populations.
“The rollback of the NEPA from the Trump administration will further endanger those who bear the greatest burden of inherited environmental injustice and structural racism,” said Rep. A. Donald mcachin
Aston (Donale) Donald McEachin NIGHT ENERGY: Biden promises carbon-free energy by 2035 in environmental plan T | Trump administration has underestimated the costs of carbon pollution, government watchdog finds | Trump to move forward with reversal of bedrock environmental law Trump to move forward with reversal of bedrock environmental law Sanders-Biden Climate Task Force Calls for Carbon Free Energy by 2035 MORE (D-Va.) In a press call.
Trump is expected to announce the implementation of the NEPA changes during a visit to the UPS Hapeville Airport Hub in Atlanta. According to a White House official, the president will discuss his actions to get rid of what the administration describes as burdensome regulations.
NEPA requires the government to review how pipelines, highways, and certain oil and gas projects impact the environment and nearby residential communities.
The White House Environmental Quality Council proposed in January to limit the scope of the law to exclude some projects from review, such as those that receive little federal funding. The proposal, slated for completion on Wednesday, is also expected to allow for more industry participation in those environmental impact reviews.
The changes would no longer require consideration of the “cumulative” effects of new projects, something courts have largely interpreted as weighing the climate effects of a project and how a new project interacts with existing sources of nearby pollution.
Instead, officials would have to consider only the “reasonably foreseeable” effects of a project.
Environmentalists argue that this would allow the government to look the other way when projects bring considerable amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Advocates of the changes have called them a modernization of a law that has created significant delays for infrastructure projects.
In announcing the proposal in January, Trump said: “From day one, my administration has made fixing this regulatory nightmare a top priority. And we want to build new roads, bridges, tunnels, bigger, better, faster roads, and we want to build them at a lower cost. “
The new rule is also expected to shorten the time it takes for the government to complete environmental impact statements from approximately 4 1/2 years to approximately 2 years.
The general changes could also rob environmentalists of a valuable legal tool. NEPA has been used in court to challenge infrastructure projects suspected of circumventing federal permitting rules. The law was cited in recent court decisions dealing with setbacks in the Dakota Access pipeline.
Wednesday’s action will not be the first time Trump has targeted NEPA.
In June, he signed an executive order that waives the requirements of various environmental laws, including NEPA, to help boost the economy during the coronavirus recession. The order would also speed up permits for construction projects overseen by various federal agencies.
More than 100 Democratic lawmakers wrote to the administration last week opposing upcoming NEPA changes.
“Historically, EJ communities have been the subject of projects and, in turn, continue to experience negative impacts on the environment and health,” lawmakers wrote, referring to environmental justice communities or those that have faced inequality. environmental.
“NEPA was created to give voice to those who are often left voiceless and has successfully enabled affected populations to challenge projects that negatively affect water quality, air quality, economic prosperity, and overall health and safety. “They added, arguing Trump’s changes” would halt this progress and run in the opposite direction, threatening to undermine years of such difficult progress. “
Several studies have shown that low-income communities and communities of color are more likely to be affected by pollution due to the proximity of projects and construction.
“We have a right to know if our social cohesion and community sustainability will improve or decrease with one project or if the cumulative effects of multiple pollutant sources will decrease the quality of the air, soil and water where we live,” Peggy Shepard, Executive Director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, told reporters.
“The planned changes to NEPA are another action in a campaign designed to silence communities,” he said.
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