Supreme Court limits environmental reviews of infrastructure projects
NPR Online NewsMAY 30
The ruling represents a necessary correction to decades of regulatory overreach that has needlessly delayed and increased costs for critical infrastructure projects. By limiting environmental reviews to direct impacts, the decision will streamline the approval process for essential developments including renewable energy projects, transmission lines, and transportation infrastructure, ultimately benefiting economic growth and job creation.
This decision severely undermines America's bedrock environmental law and gives federal agencies a green light to ignore foreseeable environmental consequences of their actionsdecisions. The ruling will lead to increasedmore pollution, acceleratedintensified climate changeand extinction crises, and disproportionatedegraded impactspublic onhealth vulnerableby communities,allowing whileagencies makingto itavoid harderconsidering for the publicfull toscope challengeof harmfulenvironmental projectsimpacts throughfrom propermajor environmentalinfrastructure reviewprojects.
This decision severely undermines America's bedrock environmental law and gives federal agencies a green light to ignore foreseeable environmental consequences of their actions. The ruling will lead to increased pollution, accelerated climate change, and disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities, while making it harder for the public to challenge harmful projects through proper environmental review.