U.S. Forest Service Proposes Changes to National Environmental Policy Act Regulations

The U.S. Forest Service is proposing a revision of the agency's regulations and procedures for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the nation's bedrock environmental law enacted in 1969. The agency proposes to "streamline" the analysis process that is the very heart of NEPA to make it more "efficient." 

While this sounds like a worthy goal on the surface, in truth, the Forest Service has numerous authorities and options for making the NEPA process a speedy process. In many instances, a project can be proposed and implemented in less than 30 days. 

Background: The purpose of NEPA is to ensure that our nation's publicly owned lands are not recklessly exploited and permanently damaged by permitted activities. Such activities include things like mining, grazing, logging, dam building, road building, selling off public lands to private bidders, etc. Since we jointly own these lands, the public has the right to weigh in on such decisions, and that's what NEPA allows us to do. Private entities who stand to profit from use of our public lands have long been opposed to any restraints placed on their activities, and they exert considerable lobbying pressure on Congress. This has resulted in extreme and radical legislative proposals over the decades (including current legislation now before the U.S. Senate). As a result, agencies may now "categorically exclude" (Cat Ex, or CE) many activities from the environmental analysis that NEPA requires. For example, logging up to 3,000 acres, limited road building, oil and gas exploration, drilling, and pipelines, are all permitted using the "CE" option. So, it's not like the agency doesn't already have a lot of discretion. To date, we have been successful at fending off extreme proposals that violate the intent and purpose of the law. 

Take Action: The industries that stand to benefit from the relaxing of these regulations will be very busy sending detailed descriptions of exactly what it is they want. You can let the Forest Service know that you are not ok with further dilution of the NEPA process or expanding the CE provisions. 

The agency offers the following methods in which you can submit comments: 

1. Portal for public participation
2. Mail: NEPA Services Group, c/o Amy Barker; USDA Forest Service, Geospatial Technology and Applications Center, 2222 West 2300 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84119.
3. Email: nepa-procedures-revision@fs.fed.us.

Comments will be accepted until the end of the day on February 2, 2018. You can cut and paste our sample letter below, but it is more effective if you edit the letter to make it personal, or write your own based on your own experience. 

Sample letter: 

Dear Chief Tony Tooke, 

I am writing today in response to the December 20, 2017 Federal Register notice that the Forest Service will be reviewing its current policies and procedures for implementing NEPA. As a member of the public that enjoys and benefits from the regular use of our national forests, I am opposed to efforts to further weaken NEPA regulations. 

Although we appreciate the need to expedite work whenever it is appropriate to do so, the agency already has plenty of discretion to utilize the Cat Ex option in situations where there is little likelihood of significant, or lasting, environmental harm. As you know, there are numerous categories available for use to expedite immediate action. These categories have been greatly expanded in the past decades since passage of NEPA in 1969. Forest Service planners are more than capable of planning and implementing lawful, environmentally sound, and swift actions. 

In 1969 there was broad bipartisan support for protection of our public lands. NEPA was necessary then, as it is now, to ensure that our cherished publicly owned lands remain a viable, healthy, and biologically diverse legacy for future generations of Americans. The U.S. Forest Service must stand firm against efforts to return our public lands to the unfettered free-for-all conditions that preceded passage of NEPA. 

The cure for the backlog of "special use permits awaiting completion" cannot lie in rewriting NEPA regulations but may require a discussion--and public disclosure--of the limits of Forest Service staffing and funding. For example, perhaps it is time to have a realistic consideration of eliminating special use permits for activities that are known to be in direct conflict with stated goals for ecosystem health, such as livestock grazing in fragile mountain meadows. 

Further, the increasing demand on Forest Service budgets due to fire suppression can only be offset by an increased use of prescribed fire, as recommended by scientists. It is far less expensive to conduct controlled burns to reduce fuels and restore forest health, than to deal with increasingly massive conflagrations and their aftermath. Forest Service leadership should provide the necessary direction to make prescribed burning a top priority in California's fire-adapted forests. Scientists tell us that there is nothing that will have a greater positive impact on the health and continued viability of our forests, than restoring the natural fire regime.

Today, as climate change threatens to shake the very foundations of our civilization, it is more important than ever to adhere to the requirements for quality, science-based analysis that were wisely integrated into the current regulations by the first framers of NEPA. 

Sincerely, 

Your Name

Resources: 

Read the Federal Register announcement asking for public comment on the proposed changes. 

Link to docket page for this action. 

Forest Service NEPA regulations, policy, and guidance.

Read the current rules for NEPA categorical exclusions in the Forest Service Handbook.

Thank you for your support. 

"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it does otherwise."
~Aldo Leopold