Maxwell Bernstein | August 7, 2020

On Thursday nine environmental activist groups sued the Trump administration over changes being made to the National Environmental Policy Act. 

The lawsuit targets changes that includes environmental review for projects, stating that, “…entire classes of projects that may have devastating cumulative or indirect impacts on people and the environment.” 

President Trump’s overhauls include speeding up permitting to federal infrastructure programs which will silence predominantly minority communities that are impacted by federal projects, as reported by Iowa Environmental Focus. 

“If implemented, the 2020 Rule will cause real, foreseeable harms to people, communities, and the natural environment,” the lawsuit said. “It will allow ill-considered and uninformed project approvals that impair individuals’ health, especially in the most vulnerable and overburdened communities. It will permit projects that divide neighborhoods and impair habitat.”