The National Environmental Policy Act, affectionately called NEPA in the alphabet soup of environmental law, is the cornerstone law that requires the federal government to look at the environmental, economic, social, and health impacts of any decision that might impact the environment. 
It applies to federal permitting decisions like those related to logging, mining, transportation, oil and gas extraction, and infrastructure like pipelines. It also applies to consequential multi-year land management plans that can set out how federal lands may be subjected to extractive projects. 

Most important, it gives local people and the public generally the chance to participate in the federal decision-making process to convey their concerns, knowledge, approval, and disapproval.… Read More

Fannie Dock talks about growing up in Bristol Bay: I was born the 11th of 16 children, all of us raised in Togiak on the southwestern part of Alaska in the Bristol Bay area.… Read More

Like a lot of you, I feel a sense of chaos and overwhelm more than usual these days. The feeling can make it hard to remember everything in the last three years that has challenged our ability as human beings to make the world just and livable for everyone. But it’s important to remember everything–all the pieces, and how they fit together in driving toward long-term outcomes.… Read More

Greed drives the Pebble project, and the pandemic hasn’t changed that. Pebble’s “business as always” approach to hunkering down includes scrounging for cash, trying to buy local support, and sending out PR this week touting its close and fruitful relationship … Read More

A couple of weeks ago I had to take my dog to the vet. While waiting in the car for my turn to pass him to the vet tech, I noticed the long line of cars at the fast food … Read More

In March, the federal agency responsible for enforcing the nation’s laws that protect public health, control pollution, and protect ecosystems and livelihoods made the unprecedented announcement that it would suspend enforcement of federal environmental regulations during the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement generated immediate and fervent uproar on social media and in newspapers, and the EPA made a belated attempt to assuage public outrage by issuing an antagonistic press release, accusing the press of “reckless propaganda.” But the truth is, the EPA’s action will allow industry to pollute without penalty, even as families and communities do everything in their power to stop the spread of a novel coronavirus.… Read More