One of the hallmarks and harms of the Bush Administration has been to eliminate or weaken our most bedrock laws. NEPA, or the National Environmental Policy Act is one that has been attacked on a number of fronts, usually in relation to forests and BLM land, so that Corporate interests won't have to fuss with Environmental Assessments or Impact Statements. And SYFP. Can't have the Rabble whining over the Commons to the detriment of profit! Slash that comment period until there is no chance that there will be time to find out about anything, much less write a "substantive comment".
They're at it again, this time, it's the Oceans. The lie is out there, via Faux News that over 70% of 'murkins want them to drill offshore. While no one is looking, they're trying to make it as easy as possible. Full speed ahead, and damn the spills............
The NEPA preamble reads:
"To declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man; to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation..."
The law establishes the National environmental policy, including a multidisciplinary approach to considering environmental amenities in decision making. The law also established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).
Of course these days, the council consists of industry shills, with James L. Connaughton acting as head Industry Shill.
I have no doubt that this move has been on their agenda for some time, and they've just been waiting to jump on it.
There has been concern over links between staff members and industry. The organisation was described as "a hard-line group of advisers with close links to the US oil industry".
CEQ chairman James L. Connaughton was formerly a partner at law firm Sidley Austin LLP, where he lobbyed to reduce government regulation on behalf of clients including the Aluminum Company of America and the Chemical Manufacturers Association of America.
There has been concern over links between staff members and industry. The organisation was described as "a hard-line group of advisers with close links to the US oil industry".
CEQ chairman James L. Connaughton was formerly a partner at law firm Sidley Austin LLP, where he lobbyed to reduce government regulation on behalf of clients including the Aluminum Company of America and the Chemical Manufacturers Association of America.
Former CEQ chief of staff Philip Cooney, was previously a lobbyist employeed by the American Petroleum Institute. In June 2005, the New York Times published a memo internal to the CEQ which showed he had repeatedly edited government climate reports in order to play down links between emissions and global warming. Cooney, who says he had been planning to resign for two years, resigned two days after the scandal broke "to spend more time with his family."Immediately after resigning, Cooney went to work for ExxonMobil in their public affairs department.
As the NYT pointed out in 2002,
The act is essentially a sunshine law. It requires all federal agencies to make a detailed assessment of the consequences of any project likely to have a significant impact on the environment, and make that assessment available for comment from the public and other federal agencies. The law does not mandate particular outcomes. Its purpose is to keep federal agencies from doing destructive things -- clear-cutting forests, straightening rivers, destroying wildlife in the name of development -- under cover of darkness. And over the years it has done a world of good.
And they hate sunshine like every bloodsucking Vampire does.
So I get a letter a couple of days ago, from Virginia Forest Watch, with link to American Lands Alliance website.
Once again, a NEPA rule has been published by an agency under this Administration that would greatly weaken NEPA procedures and set a precedent for other agencies to do the same. On May 14, 2008, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published a proposed rule that threatens the heart of the NEPA process and will alter how the National Environmental Policy Act applies to our oceans. This proposed rule will limit public participation during the environmental review process and establish a bad precedent affecting the application of NEPA to all aspects of the environment.
The National Marine Fisheries Service’s proposed NEPA rule would reduce citizens’ ability to fully participate in decisions that would affect our oceans. It proposes that the public comment period to be reduced from the current minimum of 45 days to as little as 14 days in certain instances, and limits the review of environmentally damaging activities by various procedural shortcuts. The rule also proposes to replace one of the core NEPA documents – the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) – with a new form of documentation, the Integrated Fishery and Environmental Management Statement document. By doing this, thirty years of experience with the EIS is thrown out the window.
As does American Lands Alliance
Please take your pick, and also take a minute to copy the letter, and cc your congress critter. The heart of NEPA is the heart of us all, air, land and sea.
Comments close August 12th.