On Thursday, Donald Trump rolled out a plan that absolutely destroys environmental regulation on a wholesale level by simply removing the requirement for any environmental planning from most projects currently subject to review. Under the new rules, the majority of mines, pipelines, refineries, chemical plants, and other highly polluting operations could begin construction without requiring even the basic environmental reviews that have been law for 50 years. As proposed, there would be absolutely no environmental barrier to the most damaging project, so long as that project was privately funded. The rules would exclude local communities, including tribal communities, from decisions about projects, expressly forbid planning for climate change, and allow companies to simply hide the effects of their projects from those most affected.
Since taking office, Trump has repeatedly changed regulations to make it easier for industries—and in particular, fossil fuel industries—to get by without worrying about being fined for pollution. But allowing drillers to vent unlimited methane and coal companies to pour unrestricted trash into streams just isn’t enough. In his ongoing efforts to protect polluters from ever having to deal with their pollution, Trump has hit on what may be the ultimate strategy. Under the new rules, as proposed by Trump, major industrial projects—including pipelines, highways, mines, and large construction projects—would only have to complete an environmental impact statement if they receive what Trump described as “significant” amounts of federal funds.
In the Thursday announcement, a new category of projects was created for those that fall below an as yet unstated level of “minimum federal funding.” Those projects would be relieved of review, and could launch without a study of environmental impact. There was no indication that any exemptions would be made for projects such as pipelines that cross tribal lands. Projects such as the enormously destructive Pebble Mine, which threatens to destroy Alaska’s salmon fisheries, could move ahead without facing any review. In fact, under these rules, the Pebble Mine could have already been in operation without the public ever being informed of its scale or of any concerns over how it would affect the area.
As The New York Times reports, even for those projects that would still require environmental review, details of the new plan would prohibit agencies from looking at the cumulative impact over the life of the project. That language affects all forms of pollution, but it is specifically formulated to end court cases that have blocked projects on the basis of the climate crisis. In fact, the proposed rules would explicitly forbid any consideration of climate change in reviewing projects.
There would also be a cutoff of two years to complete the review of even the largest, most complex projects that affected multiple areas—meaning that even collecting baseline data on existing ecosystems would often be impossible before giving the go-ahead for destruction.
Under the proposed changes, projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline would be freed from court challenges over their failure to consider climate change, the possibility of affecting local water supplies, or threats to critical wild lands. Projects that fall outside the limit on federal funding would not have to reveal any information regarding plans to discharge waste, or changes to drainage systems, or the release of pollutants, or the clearing of trees. A privately funded pipeline could be approved without any consideration of the consequences of a rupture. A privately funded mine could break ground without any thought to how waste would clog local streams.
The removal of consideration of cumulative effects doesn’t just mean that projects wouldn’t have to consider total greenhouse gas production. It also means that even projects subject to review—such as federal highways or other infrastructure—would purposely not consider issues of rising sea levels or increasing coastal flooding.
Under this proposal:
- Most mines, pipelines, and agricultural and industrial sites of all types would not be subject to environmental review as part of their approval process.
- Even federal projects subject to review would specifically ignore long-term effects, including both how they would contribute to the climate crisis and how they would be affected by the climate crisis.
- The public would have no right to see any environmental consequences of a project, from how much land would be cleared to how much pollution would be produced, before a project was approved.
All of this is not supported by legislation. In fact, it’s very much counter to both the spirit and the letter of existing environmental law, specifically the National Environmental Policy Act. What’s being proposed here as a change in regulatory enforcement is simply an upending of that law. Trump and his cohorts are choosing to read that law as if they’re allowed to ignore that law.
It’s expected that the proposed changes will hit the federal registry on Friday for a 60-day review. Don’t expect it to take 60 days before these proposals are in court.