WVEC Action Memo
February 3, 2006
This memo includes some items you may have already taken action on. If so, thanks. All of these items are important, of course, as the corporate-run administration tries to roll over existing environmental law. Thank you for your time and attention.
Below:
Blackwater Trail
Is the Blackwater Trail in danger of having the shadows of logging trucks darken its graceful path? Citizens across West Virginia are appalled that the U.S. Forest Service is considering destroying a world-class hiking and biking trail on public land to create a logging haul road. Contact Judy Rodd at Friends of Blackwater: 304/345-7663
CLICK HERE TO SEND YOUR COMMENT TO THE FOREST RIGHT NOW!
P.S. To all of you who already sent your cards and emails, thank you and continue to spread the word.
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Last Chance to Sign the Citizen Roadless Petition
Help Protect Our Last Wild Forests
Click Here by Feb. 6th to Protect America’s Last Roadless Forests!
On May 5, the Bush administration repealed the widely supported Roadless Area Conservation Rule, opening nearly sixty-million acres of America's last wild National Forests to logging, road construction, mining, oil exploration, and other forms of development.
Under the new policy, if governors wish to have roadless areas within their state protected, they must complete a burdensome petition process and file their recommendations with political appointees at the Department of Agriculture. The federal government is free to accept, modify or reject these petitions, while elected officials and citizens outside those states will have no say at all about the fate of these shared national treasures.
Conservationists throughout the country are joining together to file an official petition with the Bush administration to demand the reinstatement of the 2001 rule. We believe that:
America’s last roadless National Forests belong to each and every American and all our remaining roadless areas should be protected, completely and permanently through reinstatement of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule of 2001.
Join the Petition
If you agree with the statement above, please click here to join your fellow Americans and sign the petition TODAY! It’s quick, easy, and can help ensure our pristine National Forests remain wild for future generations. A petition with all of the signatures will be presented to President Bush and the Department of Agriculture. Additionally, a copy of the petition will be delivered to your Governor.
Tell Your Friends
We need citizens from every state and all walks of life to sign the petition and join our efforts to protect our last wild forests. Please take a moment and forward the petition around and help us generate lots of signatures.
Thank you for your continued support!
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Reminder – NEPA Comments Due February 6th
The public has until February 6, 2006 to submit comments on the draft report of initial findings and recommendations from the GOP-dominated Congressional National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Task Force, chaired by Eastern Washington Representative Cathy McMorris (R).
Despite the fact that 10 former members of the Council on Environmental Quality - representing both political parties - and more than 200 law professors have said that NEPA does not need any legislative changes, the draft recommendations seek to significantly weaken this law. Of the 22 proposals in the draft report, 13 of them would amend existing statutory law, including re-writing key definitions within NEPA, and throw into disarray established jurisprudence and common law.
Click here for a copy of the report:
Click here for a list of some of the most egregious recommendations from Pombo’s NEPA Task Force:
Stand Up for NEPA – Democracy in Action
The NEPA Task Force hearings and report recommendations are a part of a plan by Representative Richard Pombo (R-CA) and other pro-industry members of Congress to gut NEPA under the guise of “improving and updating” the Act. Reps. Pombo, McMorris (R-WA), and others have stated their intention to change the law and its regulations. Anti-NEPA legislation could be introduced sometime this year.
It is vital that we continue to demonstrate strong support for NEPA and the importance of public participation in federal decision making. We need your help to protect NEPA, so NEPA can continue to protect our communities.
Use the sample letter below to submit your comments to the NEPA Task Force.
Send your comments to nepataskforce@mail.house.gov by February 6, 2006
Or by mail to:
NEPA Draft Report Comments
c/o NEPA Task Force
Committee on Resources
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Or by fax: 202-225-5929
Please also send a copy of your comments to your Representative/Senators, so they know that this issue is important to you. Go to www.congress.org to look up your Members of Congress.
SAMPLE LETTER
To: House Resource Committee NEPA Task Force
Please accept these comments on the Initial Findings and Draft Recommendations from the National Environmental Policy Act Task Force. I am very concerned that the recommendations by the NEPA Task Force would weaken NEPA in profound and fundamental ways.
Echoing the sentiment of thousands of Americans from Washington State to Virginia who have expressed in person and in writing throughout the Task Force hearing process how important NEPA is to their communities, I believe this law is integral to maintaining balance and common sense where environmental decision-making is concerned.
NEPA is the best tool Americans have to learn how federal projects may affect them. It also is the best tool the federal government has to examine the proposed projects and obtain public input. By making sure that the public is informed and that alternatives are considered, NEPA has stopped some unwise and harmful projects and made countless projects better. And even though the report acknowledges that public participation is fundamental to NEPA’s success, the Task Force has made several recommendations that dramatically limit who, when, and how the public can participate in all levels of the NEPA process.
Putting limits on public involvement and our right to challenge harmful projects or reducing adequate review of major projects won’t avoid controversy or improve projects. NEPA saves time and money in the long run by reducing controversy, building consensus, and ensuring that a project is done right the first time.
I am very concerned that the recommendations, 1) add mandatory timelines for the completion of NEPA documentation and only allow for occasional extensions, 2) place significant restrictions on a citizen’s ability to participate in the public process and to challenge an agency’s decision-making process, which would unfairly tip the balance in favor of business interests rather than keeping the playing field even for all parties concerned, and 3) require that “reasonable alternatives,” including those proposed by individual citizens or community groups, be supported by “feasibility and engineering studies.” Hardly any ordinary citizen and few organizations have the technical or financial resources to prepare such studies. The industry, on the other hand, has ample resources to do so, and would clearly receive favored treatment under this requirement.
At its most basic level NEPA is about having an informed democracy. NEPA is also the guarantee that Americans affected by a major federal action will get the best information about its impacts on our community, a choice of good design alternatives to minimize damage, and the right to have our voice heard before the government makes a final decision. NEPA ensures balance, common sense and openness in federal decision-making; it is an effective tool to keep government in ‘check’.
The recommendations to amend NEPA and embark on drastic regulatory changes that reduce public participation should be rejected. I ask that you listen to the 10 former members of the Council of Environmental Quality who have said that NEPA does not need any legislative changes.
However, thoughtful analysis and review of NEPA have long recognized that there is a need to improve NEPA implementation. Requiring monitoring of project impacts, improving management oversight and providing agency personnel with adequate training and resources, and making mitigation promises mandatory are all good ideas that should be considered and do not require amending NEPA or its regulations.
I strongly urge the Task Force to reconsider its recommendations.
Sincerely,
NAME
TITLE, ORGANIZATION OR AFFILIATION (If you have one)
ADDRESS
BACKGROUND ON NEPA
The National Environmental Policy Act is the most important environmental law that most Americans have never heard of. Signed into law in 1973, it requires the government to "look before it leaps." Major federal projects must be reviewed for the environmental and public health impacts. If the damage will be significant, alternative designs must be investigated to minimize damage and these options must be shared with the public.
To read about the NEPA Task Force go to: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/nepataskforce.htm
More information on NEPA can be found at: http://www.sierraclub.org/lookbeforeyouleap/
For fact sheets and reports about NEPA, go to:
Anne Martin
National Field Director
American Lands Alliance
423 W. First Ave. Suite 240
Spokane, WA 99201
509-624-5657 work
509-981-6746 cell
annem@americanlands.org
www.americanlands.org
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Student Opportunity
Green Corps Environmental Leadership National Fellowship
The Green Corps is accepting applications for their fellowship class of 2006-2007, which is a one-year training program for top student leaders who want to receive in-depth training and experience running urgent campaigns. To apply online, go to: www.greencorps.org. Or for more info contact Mary Nicol, Assistant Recruitment Director, at mary@greencorps.org or 617-747-4301.
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