Department of Interior guidance, President Trump’s disparate impact order would block community voices, government accountability 

WASHINGTON – The Trump Administration yesterday announced additional steps in their effort to block community voices and government accountability, another move to push the American public’s concerns to the wayside in favor of the administration’s blatant pursuit of fossil fuels and critical minerals during the so-called “energy emergency.”  

The Department of Interior announced on Wednesday that it will fast forward the environmental review process to an unreasonable degree, including the unrealistic statement that they will produce assessments that require careful, detailed study in as little as 14 days.  

On Wednesday, the Trump administration also issued an executive order that aims to dismantle disparate impact liability, an important civil rights principle that allows communities that have been overburdened with pollution to get justice from the government. The order goes against decades of research showing that Black and Brown communities are more likely to be infiltrated by polluting facilities, highways, and other environmental and health threats, including a study released last summer from Stanford that found that Black Americans are more likely to die from causes related to air pollution. 

In response, Geoff Gisler, Program Director for the Southern Environmental Law Center, released the following statement:  

For nearly 100 days, this administration has demonstrated its commitment to empowering heavy polluting industries at the expense of families and communities; yesterday’s announcements continue that approach by stifling public input and sanctioning discriminatory pollution.  

The Department of Interior guidance gutting environmental reviews will unnecessarily sacrifice clean air and water by pushing forward flawed projects. The administration is taking this step to silence dissent because many fossil fuel projects are harmful, unnecessary, and cannot provide the benefits of renewable energy. At the same time, the executive order targeting disparate impact liability announced the administration’s intent to sweep away the rights of communities overburdened with dangerous pollution to raise their concerns and press the government to make it right. We know that many communities of color across the country face a heavy pollution burden; the actions proposed in this order would make that burden heavier. 

Potential impacts of Department of Interior rule:  

• Would slash review under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for energy projects, including oil and gas drilling and mining 

• Attempts to truncate the legally required review process for energy projects, pushing community concerns to the sideline and making it more likely that potential environmental consequences are not addressed early in the process. 

• Tries to slash critical ESA review would hasten the underlying extinction crisis we are living through, with likely domino effects for plants and animals we think of as common. 

• Would speed up the timeline of these critical reviews to a matter of days or weeks, with limited opportunity or ability for (dwindling numbers) of Federal Wildlife Service staff to make any meaningful suggestions for how to minimize harm to federally protected species from such projects.  

• Along with last week’s proposal to eliminate the definition of “harm” under the ESA, would be a one-two punch for wildlife across the South.