Federal judge delivers stunning blow that could put Americans' health at risk: 'Will further harm communities already struggling'
The United States is likely to see an uptick in dangerous environmental pollution thanks to the loss of regulatory measures keeping it in check.
In February, a federal judge struck a major blow against environmental protections by declaring that the White House Council on Environmental Quality lacks the authority to issue regulations, Reuters reported. It is the latest in a series of judicial decisions weakening the federal government's ability to protect Americans from pollution.
The decision concerns the CEQ, a body established by the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act. Under that act, the council is to perform environmental reviews for projects that require federal permits or receive federal funding.
NEPA reviews can delay projects by years, but they help ensure that construction and development don't harm the very communities they're performed in.
Since a 1977 executive order by President Jimmy Carter, the CEQ has also established environmental regulations for other federal departments to follow.
That is, until now. In February, U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor of North Dakota ruled on a suit filed by 20 Republican-led states. The suit alleged that the CEQ had overstepped its authority with a new rule intended to revise the environmental review process, which would have increased building costs.
Traynor ruled that the CEQ never had the power to create regulations in the first place, only to advise the president. This is despite the fact that CEQ and NEPA activities have frequently come before the court, including the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The truth is that for the past forty years, all three branches of government operated under the erroneous assumption that CEQ had authority," Traynor wrote in his decision. "But now everyone knows the state of the emperor's clothing, and it is something we cannot unsee."
Traynor's baffling decision will damage the CEQ's ability to regulate federally funded development, industry, and infrastructure projects. It will lead to more pollution, which is already a large enough problem.
"The court's ruling will weaken environmental reviews and will further harm communities already struggling with polluted land, air, and water," Jan Hasselman, a lawyer for Earthjustice, said in a statement, per Reuters.
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