Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 18 attorneys general, submitted comment letters to several federal agencies strongly urging that they refrain from moving forward with proposed final rules that rescind regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The rules, which take effect immediately, largely eliminate the agencies’ existing NEPA regulations and replace them with a patchwork of “non-binding” procedures. In the comment letters, the coalition argues that these rules will create significant environmental harm to communities nationwide, reduce public participation, and lead to less-informed environmental decisions.  

“This misguided proposal fundamentally undermines one of our country’s bedrock environmental laws, harming public health and the environment both within Illinois and nationwide,” Raoul said. “I will continue to advocate across state lines to preserve these necessary protections.”  

Enacted in 1969, NEPA is one of the nation’s foremost environmental statutes. NEPA requires that before any federal agency undertakes a “major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment,” it must consider the environmental impacts of the proposed action, alternatives to the action, and any available mitigation measures. Numerous federal actions, from the approval of significant energy and infrastructure projects to key decisions concerning the management of federal public lands, require compliance with NEPA.

 In the comment letters, sent to the Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior and Department of Transportation. Raoul and the coalition write that the rollback of NEPA regulations strips communities of their voice and protection, allowing polluting projects to move forward without the full consideration of the environmental and health risks they pose to the people who live nearby. 

 The attorneys general note that excluding indirect and cumulative impacts from consideration in environmental reviews will create confusion in federal project planning, undermine consistent environmental oversight and allow significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions to go unchecked. The coalition also argues that the rules violate the Administrative Procedure Act and will lead to violations of NEPA. 

 Raoul was joined in submitting the letters by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, with Harris County in Texas.