United States | Joe Biden restores mandatory environmental impact studies scrapped by Donald Trump

President’s government Joe Biden It announced Tuesday that it would reinstate this federal requirement United State Assess all environmental consequences of building large infrastructure projects, including climate change, and reverse the reform implemented in 2020 by Donald Trump.

The resolution refers to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), passed by Congress in 1969 under which any major construction project in the United State – Such as highways or oil pipelines – it must be preceded by an environmental impact study conducted by the competent federal authorities.

In 2020, the president’s government trump Limit its application, particularly in the requirement to take into account the project’s “cumulative” effects (such as its impact on climate change), arguing that these studies were too complex and time-consuming.

Administration Bidenwho, since taking office, has overturned many of the environmental decisions she has made trumpYou have now chosen to return the previous rules.

The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) wrote in a statement that federal agencies will once again have to weigh the “direct, indirect, and cumulative consequences of any action.”

This includes a “comprehensive assessment of the impacts on climate change” as well as “the additional pollution emitted from neighborhoods already filled with polluted air or dirty water,” she identifies.

The White House says this will not cause additional delays to construction projects under consideration.

The statement quoted CEQ President Brenda Mallory as saying the move “will help ensure projects are built in the right way from the start.”

The White House also indicated that “in the coming months” it will propose additional changes to this law, in order to make “further improvements to the efficiency of environmental assessments.”