{"id":21956,"date":"2020-03-05T16:15:34","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T21:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/?p=21956"},"modified":"2020-03-07T11:41:56","modified_gmt":"2020-03-07T16:41:56","slug":"action-national-environmental-policy-act-nepa-rollbacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/action-national-environmental-policy-act-nepa-rollbacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Action Alert: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Rollbacks"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-21961\" src=\"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/NEP.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"215\" height=\"234\" \/><strong>Send your comments by March 10, 2020<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>In mid-January, the administration announced a proposal to rewrite the rules for a bedrock environmental law &#8211; the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We have a moral responsibility to care for the health and well-being of the people and the planet. This plan does the opposite.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The proposal would cause\u00a0great harm to the environment and public health. NEPA is a\u00a0bedrock environmental law that requires federal agencies to evaluate the environmental impact of each new project.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We urge you to submit a public comment to voice your views on opposing these NEPA changes. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is accepting comments on these proposed changes until 11:59 p.m. March 10, 2020.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You can make a public comment by one of the following methods outlined below, referring to Docket Number CEQ-2019-0003-0001.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>ONLINE [Preferred] Federal eRulemaking Portal: Direct Link <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.regulations.gov\/document?D=CEQ-2019-0003-0001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong> to the \u201ccomment now\u201d page (instructions are provided). Or go to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.regulations.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.regulations.gov<\/a><\/strong> look for docket number CEQ-2019-0003.<\/li>\n<li>FAX comments to: 202-456-6546. Comments must include the Docket No. and must be received by 11:59 p.m, March 10, 2020.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Your comments should be your own or they will not be considered<\/strong> (form responses are counted as only one comment).<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Talking Points<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Below are some talking points and sample language for your consideration. Feel free to draw from what we\u2019ve provided. Your comments will be more powerful if you make them your own and explain why this issue is important to you.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>We have a moral responsibility to care for the health and well-being of the people and the planet. This plan does the opposite.<\/li>\n<li>The proposed constraints on public comments, such as the strict 30-day limit and the requirement to identify sources and methodologies, are inconsistent with the purpose of NEPA to give communities a voice in decisions that affect them.<\/li>\n<li>The proposed inflexible time limits on the preparation of NEPA documents will inevitably lead agencies to curtail the time they spent on needed analysis and outreach to affected communities.<\/li>\n<li>The removal of the current requirement to study \u201cindirect\u201d and \u201ccumulative\u201d effects of agency actions will cause agencies to ignore the fact that their actions combine with and add to the harmful effects of other existing or planned sources of pollution, which will devastate vulnerable communities already suffering from air and water pollution.<\/li>\n<li>The current requirement for considering cumulative effects must be kept in place because it is the only way to ensure that federal agencies consider how their actions contribute to global warming, surely the most critical issue of our time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>Sample Letter<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Sample &#8212; very important to use your own words:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Attn: Docket No. CEQ-2019-0003<\/p>\n<p>Dear Council on Environmental Quality,<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m writing with my concerns about the proposed changes to the regulations\u00a0implementing the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). As a Unitarian\u00a0Universalist, I believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all people and respect for the\u00a0interdependent web of all existence. My faith calls me to work to protect all people,\u00a0especially the most vulnerable, all creation, and the environment from the adverse\u00a0impacts of federal actions, especially those that contribute to the climate emergency.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em>[insert here in your own words why you are concerned and\/or adapt from our talking\u00a0points mentioned above or these below:]<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I am particularly concerned with proposed changes to NEPA that would limit the\u00a0public process and right to participate in decisions of federal agencies that can greatly affect the health and welfare of communities.<\/li>\n<li>I believe it is important that I and the public have a right to participate in decisions\u00a0and strongly oppose limiting participation in any way.<\/li>\n<li>I believe in <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em>[insert here in your own words\u2026.]<\/em><\/span> the importance of NEPA as a tool that\u00a0allows for a balanced and informed approach to federal decision-making. The proposed\u00a0rules would severely limit the effectiveness of that tool and would pose a severe threat\u00a0to the health and safety of all Americans, especially our most marginalized and\u00a0vulnerable communities.<\/li>\n<li>Please reject these ill-conceived proposed rules.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sincerely,<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em>[Your name, full address, information here]<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/what-does-nepa-do\/\">NEPA Background &amp; UUSJ Comment Letter<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Send your comments by March 10, 2020 In mid-January, the administration announced a proposal to rewrite the rules for a bedrock environmental law &#8211; the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We have a moral responsibility to care for the health and well-being of the people and the planet. This plan does the opposite. The proposal &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/action-national-environmental-policy-act-nepa-rollbacks\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Action Alert: National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Rollbacks<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advocacy","category-environment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21956"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21987,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21956\/revisions\/21987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}