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Trump sidesteps the National Environmental Policy Act - Update [1]

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Date: 2025-04-16

This attack on EPA regulations is a slow, piece by piece process, that culminated with Trump declaring that coal was "beautiful and clean." EPA regulations that at least attempted to keep coal mine operations from polluting air and water were there, and then Trump said we needed to build more coal-fired power plants to use the coal and again pollute the air and water.

I saw Trump's schedule had him signing executive orders Tuesday, and there was a flurry of them. Tucked in between the bunch was Updating Permitting Technology for the 21st Century.

It reads like there are some good things, like getting rid of paper based applications and review processes. Computerize it.

He says he wants to accelerate the processing time for projects with little or no impact on the quality of review.

Then this one pops up:

"... eliminate friction in coordination between agencies in the environmental review and permitting processes."

It's sort of like he's saying that one agency can't overrule another. The one who says to go ahead with the project is always right.

I'm going to skip over to the fact sheet which is called President Trump Brings Permitting Technology Into The 21st Century for Government Efficiency.

"The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), in consultation with the National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC) and relevant permitting agencies..."

Energy. We're talking coal, oil, and gas. He isn't talking about impacts of roads and bridges and valid infrastructure projects, he's talking about polluting energy projects getting the fast track. That's what this is all about, hidden by some good sounding modernization goals.

"This will also help agencies share information with state and tribal officials to make those permitting processes easier for project sponsors."

Project sponsors. Oil pipelines, coal mines, coal power plants, oil and gas exploration. Just to name a few. Tribal officials. We don't have enough federal land so we've got to steal from Native Americans what they were given, which they already owned anyway.

There are two more large paragraphs on how inefficient and time consuming the current permitting process takes. We just shouldn't let that happen to projects.

"Environmental review and permitting reform is a top priority for the Trump Administration and this action will accelerate the process, improve the transparency and predictability of project timelines, and eliminate unnecessary delays holding back the growth of the American economy."

Just skip over all that environmental stuff in the way and make sure we hasten climate change with more fossil fuel consumption.

Here's the kicker:

"In response to the President's Executive Order, the CEQ established an interim final rule to rescind its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. Rescinding this regulation removes a burdensome layer of bureaucracy, creating a clear path for agencies to Expeditions leave form there own NEPA procedures and allow America to build again."

The National Environmental Policy Act, passed by Congress in 1970, is what created everything we know today as giving us protection from robber baron businesses that take and destroy without consequences. A year after NEPA was passed, the Environmental Protection Agency was created. EPA is now directed by Lee Zeldin. He is not our friend. He is doing everything he can to gut the agency, and along with Doug Burgum at Interior, and Chris Wright at Energy, to make fossil fuels great again.

Piece by piece, Trump and his minions are stripping away the regulations that were put in place by experts in the fields of science to keep harm from occurring. He just ordered every agency to put a one year expiration date on every single government regulation. If they're not renewed, they're gone. No review, no fights, no lawsuits. Just gone.

Trump doesn't even want to wait that one year. He wants the regulations gone now.

That is how rabid Donald Trump is about fossil fuel making him the king of energy and the billionaire buddy's best friend. He took that billion dollar bribe he asked for last year on the campaign trail from the oil companies.

He's looking for more.

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Update:

No sooner than I post, new news proves my point

The Army Corps of Engineers, notorious for dragging their feet on reports environmentalists want, has decided to follow Trump's lead and fast track building a tunnel around an aging pipeline running through two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

There is this problem with the pipes coating , and a boat anchor damaged the pipeline in 2018.

Environmental groups and Native American tribes have been trying to get the pipeline removed for years.

The Army Corps of Engineers designated the tunnel project an emergency on Tuesday. There are still unresolved court cases, so this new designation may be moot. Stay tuned.

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