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WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) applauded the Biden Administration’s proposed restoration of critical National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) provisions.

“For fifty years, NEPA has been the bedrock of conservation law and preserved the environment, human health, and the people’s voice in policy decisions,” Rep. Dingell said. “NEPA’s directive is clear: the government must consider how a project will affect the environment, and communities and people affected by the projects must have a fair chance to weigh in on its merits. I applaud the Biden Administration for their efforts to restore critical provisions to this law that will clear up the environmental review process and allow community voices to be heard – their health and safety depends on it. Without these changes, leaving the 2020 modifications could significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions and reduce air quality, threatening public health and halting progress in the fight against climate change.”

The Council on Environmental Quality proposed to restore the following provisions in NEPA that the Trump Administration rolled back in 2020:

• Restore the requirement that federal agencies evaluate all the relevant environmental impacts of the decisions they are making.
• Restore the full authority of agencies to work with communities to develop and analyze alternative approaches that could minimize environmental and public health costs.
• Establish CEQ’s NEPA regulations as a floor, rather than a ceiling, for the environmental review standards that federal agencies should be meeting.

Dingell has repeatedly fought for strengthening NEPA, most recently sending a letter to House and Senate leadership expressing her concerns regarding any rollbacks to NEPA in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework. Dingell also introduced legislation opposing rollbacks in 2020 and spoke out against the Trump Administration’s threats to environmental protections.

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