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Advocates to Rally TOMORROW to Defend Federal Attacks on Bedrock Environmental Law

Date
February 10, 2020
Contact
Jeremy Nichols, (303) 437-7663, jnichols@wildearthguardians.org
In This Release
Climate + Energy, Public Lands, Rivers, Wildlife  
#ProtectNEPA
Denver—Tomorrow, February 11, a diverse coalition of local elected officials, community leaders, Indigenous peoples, Tribal officials, and environmental advocates from across the country will host a day of action calling on the Trump administration to protect the National Environmental Policy Act.

Often referred to as NEPA (pronounced “nee-pah”), the 50-year-old law is the United States’ basic charter for environmental protection. The law protects peoples’ right to a healthy environment and to have a say in actions undertaken by the federal government.

NEPA has been critical for protecting communities from dangerous, rushed or poorly planned projects. It has also given people the power to engage and influence activities approved by the federal government. 

In January, the Trump administration released a draft rule that would eviscerate NEPA. The rollbacks would severely curtail public involvement virtually eliminate environmental accountability within the federal government. In conjunction with the proposed rule, the administration scheduled a public hearing in Denver for tomorrow, February 11. 

A coalition will take advantage of the public hearing—one of just two hearings scheduled across the country—to draw attention to the Trump administration’s attack on the environment and to defend peoples’ voices.

More info. on the day’s events can be found here >>

What:

  • Press conference with local elected officials, Indigenous leaders, community advocates, and environmental activists (8:30-9:00am)
  • Rally followed by a “peoples’ hearing” (12:00-1:00pm)
  • Panel discussion about NEPA and stories from frontline communities (4:00-5:30pm)

When: 

Tuesday, February 11, 2020 starting at 8:30am MT

Where: 

The Alliance Center
1536 Wynkoop St
Denver, Colorado 80202

Who:

A diverse coalition of local, regional, and national nonprofit advocacy organizations, including WildEarth Guardians, Sierra Club, GreenLatinos, Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment, National Parks Conservation Association, and many others.

Background Information

The White House Council Environmental Quality (CEQ) on Thursday, January 9th released a draft rule rolling back the implementing procedures for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). 

The Trump administration’s efforts to undermine NEPA are a thinly veiled attempt to make it easier to rubber stamp projects for corporate polluters, entrench the administration’s denial of climate science and severely restrict public input in federal agency decisions.

NEPA requires federal agencies to engage in a review process to identify any significant environmental, economic, social, or health impacts a project may have before decisions are made and construction begins. NEPA’s mandatory public comment periods also provide a powerful tool for local communities to speak up in favor or opposition of major federal actions that affect their health, well-being, and environment. Thanks to NEPA, millions of people have been given a voice in federal government decisions impacting their daily lives.

CEQ is only offering an extremely short comment period of 60-days and 2 public hearings located in Washington, DC and Denver, despite the fact that NEPA is one of the most broadly applicable laws in the entire federal government and applies to every “major federal action” the government takes.

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