U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, sent The Crude Life the following statement on President Donald J. Trump announcing his Administration finalized its rule to update National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations today:
“President Trump wants to rebuild America’s infrastructure with fewer hurdles from Washington’s overbearing bureaucracy. The National Environmental Policy Act regulations are outdated, burdensome, and unnecessarily complicated. It should not take longer to get the government’s approval for a project than it would take to build it. I support the finalized rule and call on my colleagues to support passing a comprehensive infrastructure package, incorporating the highway reauthorization and water infrastructure bills we unanimously passed through the Environment and Public Works committee.”
NEPA is a law passed in 1970 requiring agencies to assess the environmental impact of proposed major federal actions. Regulations to implement the law were released in 1978 and have not been comprehensively updated since then. Senator Cramer applauded the Administration’s proposal to modernize NEPA when it was released in January and encouraged North Dakotans to engage in the process.
From his seat on the EPW Committee, Senator Cramer helped craft and unanimously pass a highway reauthorization bill and water infrastructure legislation out of committee and onto the Senate floor, where they await further action.
Thomas Pyle, President of the American Energy Alliance, said the following in support of the NEPA announcement.
“The American Energy Alliance applauds the administration’s modernization of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA is one of the most inefficient, growth-slowing, infrastructure-stopping laws we have in the U.S., desperately in need of this modernization. Americans need, and deserve, updated infrastructure to get them safely where they need to go and ensure affordable, reliable energy arrives to their cities, communities, businesses, and homes. Radical environmental groups have twisted the intent behind NEPA and leveraged the legal system to their advantage in a coordinated effort to slow and stop progress. This long overdue modernization will get American infrastructure projects out of the courtroom and onto the construction site.”
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