NEPA

Executive Disorders

One after another, Trump has let loose destructive blasts at the environment to promote fossil fuels, mining, and logging.

We all know that Trump has issued a slew of executive orders since taking the oath of office. We also know that many of these are aimed to promoting fossil fuels, mining, and logging at the expense of the environment, while disfavoring renewable energy.  Still, it’s impressive when you put the list together to see the full onslaught. 

CONTINUE READING

Trump’s Self-Defeating NEPA “Reforms”

Rather than streamlining the process, Trump is gumming up the works.

Trump has taken some dramatic steps in the name of improving use of NEPA, the statute governing environmental reviews of projects.  The goal is to speed up the permitting process and make it more efficient. The reality is that his efforts will create chaos and uncertainty, with the likely effect of slowing things down. 

CONTINUE READING

The $133 Million Bat Tunnel

Here’s what permitting reform in the United Kingdom can teach the United States about building and abundance.

“We’ll rip out ‘insane’ environmental rules that block growth.” “We can’t get anything built anymore. Everything takes too long.”  “We will streamline environmental obligations. We will limit the cynical legal challenges that block major infrastructure projects. We will strip away the years of consultation that drown builders.” You might well expect these threats and worries …

CONTINUE READING

A Stealth Repeal of NEPA

Proposal from House Natural Resources Committee would effectively repeal NEPA

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives is working on reconciliation language – legislation that can pass via a majority-vote in the Senate, but only so long as it relates to fiscal matters.  It looks like House Republicans are going to try and use the reconciliation process to effectively repeal the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). …

CONTINUE READING

Fix Our Forests, version 2

A revised bipartisan proposal in the Senate is a step forward in the right direction

I wrote previously about the Fix Our Forests bill which has been passed by the House and is currently being considered by the Senate.  I noted some concerns I had about its overuse of emergency authorities, its expansion of categorical exclusions, and some changes to litigation, as well as some positive features of the bill. …

CONTINUE READING

What are the benefits of NEPA?

NEPA’s benefits are not necessarily easy to measure, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t important

This is the seventh in a series of posts on the reasons we might have environmental review.  The first post is here.  The second post is here.  The third post is here.  The fourth post is here.  The fifth post is here.  The sixth post is here. Which of the various reasons that we might …

CONTINUE READING

NEPA as participatory democracy

NEPA might provide an opportunity for community-level engagement that advances public participation

This is the sixth in a series of posts on the reasons we might have environmental review.  The first post is here.  The second post is here.  The third post is here.  The fourth post is here.  The fifth post is here. The last major category of potential benefits from NEPA that I want to …

CONTINUE READING

NEPA as a veto point

Environmental review can empower a wider range of actors to block or hinder government projects

This is the fifth in a series of posts on the reasons we might have environmental review.  The first post is here.  The second post is here.  The third post is here.  The fourth post is here. Judicial review to enforce NEPA ensures that agencies actually take environmental review requirements seriously, as opposed to producing …

CONTINUE READING

Can NEPA change agency decisionmaking?

Environmental review can change agency incentives or culture

This is the fourth in a series of posts on the reasons we might have environmental review.  The first post is here.  The second post is here.  The third post is here. Another pathway by which environmental review might change outcomes, even with no legally binding substantive components, is through changing internal agency decisionmaking.  The …

CONTINUE READING

NEPA as a political tool

How NEPA can change environmental outcomes through political and public pressure

This is the third in a series of posts on the reasons we might have environmental review.  The first post is here.  The second post is here. A frequent critique of NEPA is that it is paperwork without purpose, and thus a waste of resources.  How can a statute that has no substantive requirements, and …

CONTINUE READING

Join Our Mailing List

Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.

TRENDING