NRDC’s Gina McCarthy on Trump’s Plan to Gut NEPA

WASHINGTON – President Trump is scheduled to propose new rules that would rubberstamp major projects that could harm people’s health and exacerbate climate change—from massive oil and gas operations, to new highways—without requiring a substantive environmental review process.

These changes would undercut a process created 50 years ago under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that allows the public to share its input and requires the federal government to carefully consider the potential harm to our air, water and communities in the decision-making process.

The following is a statement by Gina McCarthy, president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC):

“We live in a democracy, not a dictatorship. Americans deserve to have their voices heard before their families’ health and well-being are put at risk by projects that bring unwanted and unnecessary pollution and disruption into their communities. While our world is burning, President Trump is adding fuel to the fire by taking away our right to be informed and to protect ourselves from irreparable harm.
 

“For the past 50 years, NEPA has been an essential part of the public process, providing critical oversight that the federal government relies on to fully understand the potential implications of projects that can harm people’s health and the environment.

“We will use every tool in our toolbox to stop this dangerous move and safeguard our children’s future.”

For more information on this issue, see this fact sheet from the Partnership Project.

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The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC