Letter to the Hon. Donald Trump, President of the United States - 81 House Members Urge Trump to Withdraw Executive Order that Dangerously Circumvents Key Environmental Reviews Intended to Protect Frontline Communities

Letter

Dear President Trump:

We are writing to express our opposition to your Executive Order signed on June 4, 2020
titled, "EO on Accelerating the Nation's Economic Recovery from the COVID-19 Emergency by
Expediting Infrastructure Investments and Other Activities" (Order) and to request that you
withdraw it immediately.

As our nation reels from unprecedented health and economic crises and social unrest,
your Order would further endanger the very communities that have faced the greatest burdens of
legacy environmental injustice and structural racism. These same communities are also hardest
hit by the ongoing crises caused by COVID-19. Your Order seeks to circumvent three pillars that
make up the backbone of American environmental policy - the National Environmental
Protection Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Clean Water Act (CWA) - and are
essential in protecting the health of the American public, which is deeply linked to the health of
our lands, waters, and wildlife.

Infrastructure projects bring both benefits and burdens, and NEPA was crafted
thoughtfully to minimize the burdens and maximize the benefits of such projects for the
American public. It was created in response to projects that were not studied in advance and
thereby caused substantial social, environmental, and economic harms, especially in
communities of color. Contrary to your assertion that NEPA is a barrier for infrastructure
projects, requiring environmental review prior to construction ensures that government officials
and the public know the potential harms associated with a proposed project, allowing for
informed decision-making as well as the chance to develop effective design and operational
mitigations. In short, NEPA and other protective federal statutes, such as CWA and ESA,
improve governance and make infrastructure projects better. Moreover, as many federal laws
apply to infrastructure projects, NEPA helps bring order to the review and enforcement process.
By disregarding the fundamental purpose, functions, and safeguards included in NEPA, you are
failing to uphold your duty to protect the American people and are ignoring the intent of and
fundamental need for these policies.

NEPA statute designates that it is the federal government's duty to consider the
environmental impact of proposed infrastructure projects on nearby communities. Frontline and
fenceline communities -- whose residents are disproportionately people of color - live near
factories, powerplants, and roadways that regularly expose them to toxic pollution and cause
outsized health risks, such as respiratory illness, heart disease, and cancer. Lauded as landmark
environmental justice legislation, NEPA was created to give a voice to those who are often
rendered voiceless and has successfully allowed impacted populations to challenge projects that
negatively affect their water quality, air quality, economic prosperity, and overall health and
safety.

The harm communities will experience from your Order circumventing NEPA is
compounded with the Order's evading of the CWA and ESA. The CWA functions to ensure that
the discharge of pollutants into the nation's waters remain within safe levels, and that
infrastructure projects will not worsen water quality for vulnerable communities. The ESA is
critical for preserving the sustainability of our ecosystems by ensuring that any negative impact
of federal and private actions on threatened and endangered species and their habitats is
minimized.

By seeking to circumvent these longstanding environmental laws, you are making clear
that your priority is not to protect the American people. Your Order undermines our democracy
by taking away the ability for public comment. Moreover, the nature and timing of your actions --
the use of an Executive Order in the midst of multiple national crises -- further undermines public
participation in the policymaking process and can only be viewed as an intentional act to prevent
public input into this drastic and hasty decision.

As such we urge you to withdraw your Executive Order immediately. Given the urgency
of this request, we ask that you provide our offices with a response within 24 hours.