State of Colorado opposes federal proposal to overhaul National Environmental Policy Act, says it will undermine efforts to protect public health and welfare

March 10, 2020 (DENVER, Colo.)— Attorney General Phil Weiser today filed comments with the White House Council on Environmental Quality regarding the administration’s proposed changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, a foundational federal law that governs the evaluation process for federal projects and actions that may impact the environment.

In the comment letter, the State of Colorado recognizes the importance of updating the rule to make NEPA review more efficient and streamlined and to account for the use of modern technology in those reviews. However, the State urges the administration to withdraw their proposed rule because it undermines the foundational components of NEPA, limits public stakeholder involvement, and it will have adverse effects on public health and our state’s natural resources.

“Since NEPA became law 50 years ago, federal, state, local and tribal agencies have worked collaboratively with concerned citizens to reach better decisions on federal actions such as highway construction, energy development, water planning, disaster preparedness, and fish and wildlife management,” said Weiser. “Colorado supports modernizing NEPA review and making it more efficient and streamlined. The proposed rule, however, would restrict our state’s ability to take into account the indirect and cumulative impacts of projects and ignore the effects of climate change in infrastructure and resource planning, and that could threaten Colorado’s health, economy and way of life.”

The State’s comment letter can be found here.

###

Lawrence Pacheco
Director of Communications
(720) 508-6553
Lawrence.Pacheco@coag.gov