The Trump administration’s rewrite of National Environmental Policy Act regulations “upends virtually every aspect of NEPA and its long-standing practice, contradicts decades of court interpretations of NEPA’s mandates, and undercuts the reliance placed on NEPA by the public, decision-makers, and project proponents,” a lawsuit filed last week says.
In their complaint filed in San Francisco, 20 plaintiff environmental groups said the July 16 rule “limits the scope of actions to which NEPA applies, eviscerates the thorough environmental analysis that lies at the heart of the statute, reduces the ability of the public to participate in federal agency decision-making, and seeks to limit judicial review of agency NEPA compliance.”
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The plaintiffs include groups like the Alaska Community Action on Toxics, National Wildlife Federation and Environmental Defense Fund.
Opponents to the rule might also use methods other than litigation to attack the action. The rule could be subject to reversal through the Congressional Review Act.
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