[csusbpeace] In Further Trump Reversal, White House Moves To Put Climate Back In Infrastructure Equation
- From: "raccoon" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> ("bigraccoon1")
- To: "CSUSBPEACE@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <CSUSBPEACE@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2023 18:40:49 -0800
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/white-house-nepa-guide-climate-emissions-infrastructure_n_63b88c08e4b0d6f0b9faf29a
In Further Trump Reversal, White House Moves To Put Climate Back In
Infrastructure Equation
Federal regulators have been instructed to consider planet-warming pollution
before approving large projects like pipelines and airports.
Jan 6, 2023
A photo provided by the Department of Energy shows crude oil pipes at the
Bryan Mound site near Freeport, Texas.
President Joe Biden <https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/joe-biden>’s White
House on Friday issued new guidance for federal agencies to assess greenhouse
gas emissions and climate change impacts when reviewing proposed
infrastructure projects.
The updated guidance
<https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-00158.pdf> from the White
House Council on Environmental Quality furthers the administration’s reversal
of a major Trump-era move, the industry-friendly overhaul
<https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-nepa-rollback-climate_n_5e166c2ec5b600960c5f72d8>
of the National Environmental Policy Act, one of the country’s bedrock
environmental laws. It is a supplement to a White House rule last year that
required federal agencies to once again evaluate all climate
<https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/climate-change> environmental impacts
when reviewing pipelines, power plants, airports and other projects.
NEPA reviews “should quantify proposed actions’ [greenhouse gas] emissions,
place GHG emissions in appropriate context and disclose relevant GHG
emissions and relevant climate impacts, and identify alternatives and
mitigation measures to avoid or reduce GHG emissions,” the new guidance reads.
CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory said in a statement that the guidelines will “ensure
we’re building sustainable, resilient infrastructure for the 21st century and
beyond.”
Since 1970, NEPA has protected air, water and land by requiring federal
regulators to conduct detailed environmental assessments of major
infrastructure projects. In 2020, the Trump administration finalized the
first major update to the law in more than four decades, part of a broad
administrative effort to fast-track energy projects and other development.
Along with allowing agencies to ignore climate impacts, the rewrite largely
cut out the public from the environmental review process. Critics condemned
the rollback as an attack on environmental justice
<https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-nepa-environmental-justice-rule-change_n_5e557ac0c5b63b9c9ce498f4>,
as low-income people and communities of color are often most impacted by
large-scale infrastructure projects.
The White House council’s new recommendations replace and build upon 2016
guidance from the Obama administration that the Trump administration
rescinded shortly after taking office. Along with prioritizing greenhouse gas
emissions in the environmental review process, the guidance calls on federal
agencies to “identify any communities with environmental justice concerns”
and to “consider how impacts from the proposed action could potentially
amplify climate change-related hazards such as storm surge, heat waves,
drought, flooding, and sea level change.”
The guidance also distinguishes between renewable energy projects and
carbon-intensive infrastructure, instructing regulators to “apply the rule of
reason when determining the appropriate depth of analysis.”
“Absent exceptional circumstances, the relative minor and short-term GHG
emissions associated with construction of certain renewable energy projects,
such as utility-scale solar and offshore wind, should not warrant a detailed
analysis of lifetime GHG emissions,” it reads.
The White House directive comes after a sweeping permitting reform package,
spearheaded by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), repeatedly failed to garner enough
support in the Senate.
Environmental groups applauded the new NEPA guidance. Abigail Dillen,
president of Earthjustice, called it
<https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2023/earthjustice-on-biden-administrations-guidance-on-greenhouse-gases-and-climate-change>
“a huge achievement for frontline communities fighting to make their voices
heard across the country” and “essential to leading federal agencies on our
path to a just, zero emissions future.”
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