It cost $1,000 for Patricia Qasimah Boston to fly from Tallahassee to Washington and stay in a hotel. She traveled 800 miles for a three-minute appearance at a public hearing held Tuesday by the Council on Environmental Quality, a White House agency that recently proposed to weaken the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
NEPA was signed into law in 1970 "to create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony, and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans." It's imitated around the globe by nations hoping to protect public health as well as plants and animals.
Boston, an environmental justice advocate, called the law "a bible" that protects communities across the country by allowing them to challenge the environmental impact of proposed federal projects. Usually the council holds around nine hearings across the country so citizens can comment on policy changes. But this time, it held two.
Boston used her brief time to make an appeal to keep the law intact (完好无损的). "The rollback will limit the ability of my community to know the health consequences of government actions," she said.
Activists and politicians who attended the hearing also denounced (谴责) the inadequate time for public comment and the sharply reduced opportunities for citizens to speak out about a significant public policy change.
Corporate trade representatives who support the proposed changes to NEPA echoed Interior Secretary David Bernhardt's opinion that the law causes unnecessary delays that hold up projects by an average of four years. "The consequences of the government being stuck in place are far-ranging. The reality is that the needless red tape has, over time, lowered the expectations of American excellence. And that is backward," Bernhardt said in January.
"But carving away vital provisions (规定) in the law is unacceptable," said Christy Goldfuss, who chaired the council for two years. "This change will silence communities that could be harmed the most by federal actions," said Goldfuss.
