National Environmental Policy Act
Figure 1. Goodbye, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Source: Wikipedia.
Fortunately, the Trump administration was generally so grossly incompetent at governing that most of the Trumpian rollbacks were, are being, or can be overturned through a combination of executive, judicial, and congressional actions.
Read MoreOnly the half of NEPA that is procedural is enforceable in court against federal agencies that violate it. And now that half is under attack from the president and from Congress.
Read MoreIf the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposes to pave over the Earth, NEPA, in and of itself, will not stop them. All the Army has to do is prepare an environmental impact statement that considers a reasonable range of alternatives, proposes reasonable and prudent mitigation measures and fully discloses to the public the impact.
Read MoreThe Trump administration is trying to allow a 12-mile road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and wilderness area in Alaska.
Read MoreIn 1986, Congress enacted the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act to, among other things, “establish a national scenic area to protect and provide for the enhancement of the scenic, cultural, recreational, and natural resources of the Columbia River Gorge.” In 2017, Representative Greg Walden (R-2nd-OR) proposes to throw it out the window.
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