Donald Trump is ready to roll back a key Nixon-era environmental law that he says stifles major infrastructure projects, but that environmentalists say has served for decades as a safeguard for low-income and minority communities.
Donald Trump is ready to roll back a key Nixon-era environmental law that he says stifles major infrastructure projects, but that environmentalists say has served for decades as a safeguard for low-income and minority communities.
The US president was travelling to Atlanta, Georgia, yesterday to formally announce the changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (Nepa), making it easier to build highways, pipelines, chemical plants and other projects.
When Mr Trump first announced the move in January, the administration set a two-year deadline for completing full environmental impact reviews while less comprehensive assessments would have to be completed within a year. The White House said the final rule will promote the rebuilding of America.
Critics call the Republican president’s efforts a cynical attempt to limit the public’s ability to review, comment on and influence proposed projects under one of the country’s bedrock environmental protection laws.
«This may be the single biggest give-away to polluters in the past 40 years,» said Brett Hartl of the US’s Centre for Biological Diversity, an environmental group.
