WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) , ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, released the following statement on new rules expected from the White House Council on Environmental Quality that will weaken enforcement of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
“Since NEPA was signed into law in 1970, the act has given every American the right to petition the government regarding federal projects that impact the health of their communities and the environment. This rollback is an affront to all American communities and it will certainly hit low-income communities and communities of color – that have suffered the legacy of decades of environmental pollution – even harder. The decision to roll back NEPA protections after 50 years, and to take away one of the best and only means marginalized communities have to prevent even more toxic pollution from landing in their backyards in the middle of a pandemic and economic crisis, is egregious.
“Just as it has for five decades, the federal government should continue to fully evaluate the environmental, climate, and public health impacts of projects. Anything less ignores the fundamental rights of Americans. Climate change is already threatening our way of life – especially in states like New Mexico – and we are in peril of another mass species extinction. NEPA is one of the best available tools we have to limit further damage to our environment that supports us all with clean air and clean water.
“Despite overwhelming public opposition to this decision, this administration has once again put the bottom line of corporate polluters before health and safety of Americans. To ignore local voices in these decisions is dangerous and undemocratic.”
