On the same day international scientists released a study saying that human activity is responsible for record heat in Siberia, the Trump Administration has released a final rule that will undermine the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This action to short-circuit core environmental protections will exacerbate the global climate crisis and will have a devastating impact on the ability of the American people, especially those in black and underserved communities, to weigh in on projects that affect their health and well-being.
Landscape architects have a long history and successful track record of planning and designing federal infrastructure projects that simultaneously protect the environment and help to safeguard threatened communities. This action by the administration, which ignores overwhelming public opposition, is unjustified and violates core principles of federal rule-making.
ASLA submitted comments opposing this rules change when it was first proposed, and we continue to oppose this assault on the critical environmental protections in NEPA. Congress must step in under its powers spelled out in the Congressional Review Act to overturn this rule before it’s too late.