Press Releases

Washington, D.C. (August 2nd, 2016) – Yesterday, President Obama’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) finalized guidance directing all federal agencies to incorporate climate change into their decision-making processes under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This guidance applies to a broad swath of federal actions and permits, including public land and resource management, transportation, energy, forestry, and a host of other activities important to the West and the American economy. Under the guidance, carbon emissions could be used to hold up projects, increase their costs, or deny them altogether.

Western Caucus Chairman Cynthia Lummis (WY-At large) issued the following statement in response:

“Yesterday the White House issued a sweeping policy with potentially enormous economic costs without a rulemaking and without adequate scientific justification,” said Chairman Lummis. “This guidance hijacks NEPA, using it as a tool for the Obama Administration to limit job creation and economic growth, particularly in the West where it could be used to keep our public lands under lock and key. NEPA is about transparency and informing the public and federal decision-makers, not dictating outcomes as this guidance will do.”

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