Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumNYT: Trump Moves to Exempt Big Projects From Environmental Review
New York Times Jan. 9, 2020, 9:02 a.m. ET
Many of the changes to the law the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act, a landmark measure that touches nearly every significant construction project in the country have been long sought by the oil and gas industry, whose members applauded the move and called it long overdue.
White House officials on Thursday morning declined to comment on the proposed regulations, which will be formally released later in the day. One person familiar with the announcement said the administration would highlight a replacement of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge in North Carolina, which took more than 20 years because of federal reviews. Administration officials will argue that the changes will help projects like that one move faster.
Under the law, major federal projects like bridges, highways, pipelines or power plants that will have a significant impact on the environment require a review, or environmental impact statement, outlining potential consequences. The proposed new rules, which guide the way the law is implemented, will narrow the range of projects that demand such a review. It will do that by creating a new category of non-major federal actions that can move forward without any assessment, according to two government officials familiar with the regulation.
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That means agencies will not have to examine whether a pipeline, mine or other fossil fuel project would worsen climate change. It also means there will not be any requirement to understand how or whether a road or bridge in a coastal area would be threatened by sea-level rise.
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/climate/trump-nepa-environment.html
The NYT pay wall seems very strict this morning. The gist is here in the excerpt.
Eugene
(61,965 posts)Source: ABC News
Trump administration moves to change landmark environmental law to speed up infrastructure projects
Critics say the change would make it easier to disregard climate change.
By Stephanie Ebbs
9 January 2020, 12:09
8 min read
The Trump administration is moving to change a landmark environmental law that could limit how much climate change is considered in government projects, a move advocates say could make it harder for the public to register concerns about pipelines and other infrastructure projects.
The National Environmental Policy Act sets guidelines for how every government agency makes decisions, mandating that the impact on the environment and public health be considered, while also setting up the procedures for the public to officially register concerns about a project.
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Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-administration-moves-change-landmark-environmental-law-speed/story?id=68155048