Today, U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), sent a letter to Michael Boots, Acting Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). In the letter, the Senators urge CEQ to withdraw its February 2010 draft guidance that would dramatically expand the scope of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by requiring agencies to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a NEPA review.

"Far too often, this Administration has entered into sue-and-settle agreements with radical anti-development activists, which only serves to further an economically destructive environmental agenda," wrote the Senators. "CEQ's draft guidance to require consideration of climate change in NEPA documents would lead to significant delays in projects and are squarely outside of NEPA's intentions."

Today's letter follows up on an April 2013 letter in which Vitter led 33 Senators noting CEQ's efforts to require consideration of climate change in NEPA documents would lead to significant delays in projects and are squarely outside of the impacts that NEPA was intended to consider. The letter is timely because of a recent lawsuit filed on April 2, 2014 by the International Center for Technology Assessment and the Center for Food Safety, in an effort to force CEQ to release a final guidance document. Instead of entering into a sue-and-settle agreement with those entities that advances policy that will hurt job creation and economic growth, the Senators believe withdrawing the guidance is a more appropriate path forward.

Click here to read today's letter.

 

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