Great Lakes Wire

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a group of 17 attorneys general, along with the District of Columbia and Harris County, Texas, in submitting comment letters to several federal agencies. The letters urge the Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, and Department of Transportation not to proceed with their proposed final rules that would rescind regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The new rules would immediately eliminate existing NEPA regulations across these agencies and replace them with what are described as “non-binding” procedures. According to the coalition's comments, this change could result in significant environmental harm nationwide, reduce opportunities for public participation, and lead to less-informed decisions regarding environmental impacts.

“Unlawfully rolling back NEPA’s longstanding regulations would make it harder for Michigan to have our voice heard in federal decisions that affect our Great Lakes and natural resources,” Nessel said. “It would create confusion and limit our ability to fully understand how major projects will impact our state. I stand with my colleagues in defending these rules that protect our environment and communities.”

Enacted in 1969, NEPA requires federal agencies to consider environmental impacts before undertaking any major actions that could significantly affect human health or the environment. This includes evaluating alternatives and mitigation measures for projects such as energy developments or land management decisions.

The coalition’s comment letters argue that removing current NEPA regulations would diminish community input and protection by allowing potentially polluting projects to advance without adequate consideration of their risks. They also contend that these changes violate the Administrative Procedure Act by being “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion” and not following required legal procedures. Furthermore, they warn that excluding indirect or cumulative impacts from reviews could undermine consistent oversight and allow sources of greenhouse gas emissions to go unregulated.

Attorney General Nessel is joined in this action by her counterparts from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Vermont; as well as officials from the District of Columbia and Harris County.