Green groups launched a lawsuit against the Trump administration for slashing public comment opportunities ahead of allowing mining, logging and drilling projects to proceed in national forests.
“Cutting the public out means the Trump administration can rubberstamp destructive projects that’ll devastate our forests and harm nearby communities, ” said Wendy Park, a Center for Biological Diversity senior attorney, in a news release.
The lawsuit, brought Wednesday by CBD and Sierra Club, says the Department of Agriculture is overlooking public comment and participation requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. Enacted in 1970, NEPA is “often the only way” people can weigh in on public land initiatives, the group wrote in the release.
The groups say the administration’s focus on fast-tracking projects could allow them to be announced after they’ve already begun, skipping public review beforehand. The groups also raise concerns with elimination of public participation opportunities involving factory farm disease outbreaks and wildlife killings, among other USDA responsibilities.
