Bush Plan Excludes Public From Environmental Review

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> Bush Plan Excludes Public From

> Environmental Review

>

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> BUSHGREENWATCH

> Tracking the Bush Administration's Environmental

> Misdeeds

> http://www.bushgreenwatch.org

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>

> July 28, 2004

>

> BUSH PLAN EXCLUDES PUBLIC FROM ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

>

> A new directive proposed by the Bush administration

> would grant

> broad environmental exemptions to numerous

> government agencies

> under the guise of national security. It would also

> exclude the

> American public from decisions that can have

> long-term health

> and environmental consequences.

>

> Under directives for carrying out the National

> Environmental

> Policy Act (NEPA), agencies such as the Coast Guard,

> Border

> Patrol, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

> and many

> others would be given " categorical exemptions " from

> following

> federal environmental regulations if they invoke

> reasons of

> national security. Such exclusions would enable

> agencies to

> conduct activities in secret that could have serious

> implications for public safety - such as using or

> storing

> hazardous chemicals in close proximity to

> residential areas and

> schools without letting citizens know about their

> risk of

> exposure.

>

> The directive would also allow the degradation of

> public

> resources -- such as the building of new roads

> through national

> forests for use by the Border Patrol -- with no

> input from the

> public whatsoever. While these agencies would still

> have to

> conduct environmental reviews before taking action,

> those

> reviews would not be subject to public scrutiny or

> public

> comment. [1]

>

> " This rule is just one example of how the Bush

> administration

> uses 9/11 and the threat of terrorism generally to

> instill fear

> and basically prevent the public from learning what

> it has a

> right to know, " Brian Segee, associate counsel for

> Defenders of

> Wildlife, told BushGreenwatch.

>

> " There are legitimate reasons to keep some

> information secret, "

> he said. " But these should be narrowly defined. Does

> the fact

> that Border Patrol is blazing a road through a

> national forest

> need to be kept secret? We don't think so. "

>

> Segee submitted a nine-page letter to the Department

> of Homeland

> Security criticizing the proposed directive on

> behalf of

> Defenders of Wildlife, the Ocean Conservancy and the

> National

> Audubon Society. The Natural Resources Defense

> Council also

> submitted detailed comments, asking that certain

> exclusions -

> such as those related to the disposal of hazardous

> wastes - be

> deleted from the document. [2]

>

> The period for submitting comments to the Department

> of Homeland

> Security has been extended until August 16.

>

> ###

>

> TAKE ACTION

> Comments may be faxed to 202-772-9749 or sent via

> email to

> ADMIN-S & E.

>

> ###

>

> SOURCES:

> [1] Department of Homeland Security website,

> http://ga3.org/ct/77zkGk91FjG0/.

> [2] NRDC letter, Jul. 14, 2004, Defenders of

> Wildlife letter,

> Jul. 14, 2004.

>

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