Peter Dykstra: President Trump’s stealthiest environmental attack may be his biggest.
Credit: VCU Capital News Service/flickr

Peter Dykstra: President Trump’s stealthiest environmental attack may be his biggest.

If you haven't heard of NEPA, you're not alone.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the most sweeping environmental law on America's books.


It requires a thorough study of the environmental impact of any major federal construction project, law or regulation before it becomes the law of the land.

Thus, NEPA has become the bane of the existence of many a developer or "anti-environment" policymaker since that sly ol' treehugger, Richard Milhous Nixon, signed it into law nearly 50 years ago, on January 1, 1970.

The law also created the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the leading White House environmental advisors.

But a president who is most often compared to Nixon seems hell-bent on crippling or wiping out several Nixon-era creations, including NOAA, EPA, the Clean Air Act, NEPA, and the Clean Water Act (which Nixon actually vetoed as too costly, but an environmentally bipartisan Congress overrode the veto).

The push for NEPA is largely credited back then to Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson, a pro-Vietnam War Democratic Senator who exhibited pro-conservation tendencies from time to time. The law called for a process that often took three to five years to measure up, say, a roadbuilding project that might cross swords with an endangered species listing or prospective Clean Water Act violation. (Note: Trump has already found ways around NEPA – for example, exempting the habitat-destroying Border Wall from a multitude of enviro laws, including NEPA.)

A few years ago, the Natural Resources Defense Council defended NEPA's successes with an exhaustive rundown citing examples from all 50 states. But even NEPA's staunchest defenders concede that three to five years' delay on projects can be as burdensome as its requirement for public comment are helpful.

Power transmission line and pipeline projects, including the longstanding tussle over the Keystone XL Pipeline, are front and center lines of conflict in Congress, in court, and in a potentially "streamlined" NEPA process.

An environmental battle that's nearly as venerable as NEPA itself could be drawn into the mix next year. As the Trump Administration pushes for oil drilling in the the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, conservationists and Indigenous Alaskans are fighting the drilling in a portion of the sprawling refuge. The Interior Department has moved directly to leasing without a full environmental review, something experts say goes directly against NEPA.

For environmentalists, NEPA's requirements for public input could be a major loss. After all, their whimsical play on the NEPA acronym is "Never Eliminate Public Advice."

environmental justice

LISTEN: Robbie Parks on why hurricanes are getting deadlier

"In places where there are high minority populations they bear, by far, the most burden of deaths from tropical cyclones."

Dr. Robbie Parks joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast for a bonus episode to discuss how hurricanes have become deadlier in recent years and how we can better protect vulnerable communities.

Keep reading...Show less
Senator Whitehouse & climate change

Senator Whitehouse puts climate change on budget committee’s agenda

For more than a decade, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave daily warnings about the mounting threat of climate change. Now he has a powerful new perch.
wind energy climate inflation reduction act
Image by Peter Dargatz from Pixabay

The Inflation Reduction Act is reducing U.S. reliance on China

Don’t get fooled by a common myth. The reality: The landmark IRA includes provisions to incentivize domestic clean energy manufacturing and reduce U.S. dependence on China.
uaw strike electric vehicles energy
Image by LEEROY Agency from Pixabay

What the UAW strike means for EVs

The UAW is seeking better pay and benefits — and an uncertain transition to electric vehicles is underpinning a lot of their concerns.

Extreme plankton bloom creates marine 'dead zone' off eastern Thailand

Marine scientists say some areas in the Gulf of Thailand have more than 10 times the normal amount of plankton, turning the water a bright green and killing off marine life.

electric vehicles climate health
Image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay

Electrifying a fraction of vehicles in the lower Great Lakes could save over a thousand lives annually, studies suggest

New research reveals that even a “mid-transition” to electrified transportation could have outsized health and economic benefits for Black and Latino residents.
climate heat map united states
Photo by Nico Smit on Unsplash

How maps can protect children from extreme heat

Heatwaves claim tens of thousands of lives each year. Now a US mapping project is revealing those most at risk so they can get the help they need.

climate energy new mexico protection
Photo by Joonyeop Baek on Unsplash

BLM wants to protect the Placitas area from oil and gas extraction

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland wants to withdraw nearly 4,213 acres of public lands from oil and gas extraction for 50 years “to protect, preserve, and promote the scenic integrity, cultural importance, recreational values, and wildlife habitat connectivity within the Placitas area,” according to the six-page draft proposal.

From our Newsroom
children nature

Opinion: When kids feel the magic of nature, they will want to protect it

Improving our quality of life starts with the simple of act of getting kids outdoors.

birds climate change

In the Gulf of Maine, scientists race to save seabirds threatened by climate change

“I could see that, if successful, the methods developed could likely help these species."

fracking economics

Appalachia’s fracking counties are shedding jobs and residents: Study

The 22 counties that produce 90% of Appalachian natural gas lost a combined 10,339 jobs between 2008 and 2021.

Marathon Petroleum y una ciudad de Texas muestran una  potencial crisis de comunicaciones sobre sustancias químicas

Marathon Petroleum y una ciudad de Texas muestran una potencial crisis de comunicaciones sobre sustancias químicas

En los últimos tres años, Marathon ha violado repetidamente la ley de Aire Limpio y tuvo tres emergencias en el semestre de febrero a julio de 2023.

WATCH: How Marathon Petroleum and one Texas city show the potential for a chemical communication crisis

WATCH: How Marathon Petroleum and one Texas city show the potential for a chemical communication crisis

Marathon in Texas City has repeatedly violated the Clean Air Act and had three emergencies in the span of a six month period.

air pollution heart attack

ER visits for heart problems plummeted after Pittsburgh coal processor shut down

Levels of one highly-toxic pollutant fell by 90% and ER visits for heart problems decreased by 42% immediately after the shutdown.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.