Why we need NEPA intact

Environmental impact studies can take two years or more and I’m sure that’s an inconvenience to the developers who’d like to see approvals fast-tracked so they can make a quick buck. This is particularly true of oil and gas drillers who know their industry isn’t long for this world.

Sometimes years is how long it takes to correctly evaluate the impact of a development on future generations. Can we think about our children and grandchildren every once in a while?

I’m sure public input into industrial development is a pain in the ass for those same entrepreneurs, especially when they know a portion on that public is gonna be negatively impacted by their plans. That’s the way democracy works. The people shouldn’t be left to take whatever the money grubbers want. These proposals affect public lands, so the public should have a say.

Shorter EISs and limited public comment are two of the provisions in the Trump administration’s proposed rollback of the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act. For once, this wasn’t one of Barack Obama’s environmental protections. It was the brainchild of that noted tree-hugger Richard Nixon.

We don’t have to be quiet about this. Contact White House Council on Environmental Quality Director Mary Neumayr at FN-CEQ-Open-Gov@ceq.eop.gov and tell her “environmental quality” will be preserved if we leave NEPA alone.

Fred Malo Jr.

Carbondale