Trump Is Moving to Kill a Key Federal Environmental Law
Over the weekend, the Trump administration began the process of defanging the 1970 National Environmental Policy Act — a mandate that allows communities to protect themselves from polluters.
Donald Trump speaks during an executive order signing at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 14, 2025. (Samuel Corum / Sipa / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Over the weekend, the Trump administration appeared to begin the process of rolling back enforcement of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the “Magna Carta” of federal environmental law. In a filing submitted February 16, administration officials announced an interim rule titled “Removal of National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations.”
NEPA requires all federal agencies to consider the environmental impact of their work, including by submitting new contracts and permits to rigorous environmental assessments and public comment. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1970 amid growing pollution concerns, NEPA was the nation’s first major environmental law, predating the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Project 2025 — the conservative policy agenda authored by Trump’s former aides — said that the government is “abusing” NEPA, and has called for severely limiting the law.
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