WASHINGTON, D.C., May 13, 2015 - Today, the Committee on Natural Resources held an oversight hearing titled "The Obama Administration’s CEQ Recently Revised Draft Guidance for GHG Emissions and the Effects of Climate Change." Chairman Rob Bishop (UT-01) released the following statement following the hearing:
“The Council Environmental Quality’s draft guidance expands the scope of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to the point that it is unrecognizable. Imposing upon federal agencies a de facto requirement to measure the immeasurable is a mockery of the law. It will create more regulatory confusion and even more litigation - which are precisely the bureaucratic failures that the Obama Administration professes to alleviate through its guidance.
“This guidance makes a fool out of NEPA in its call for a total analysis of GHG emissions that goes beyond the project at hand, beyond the jurisdictional scope of departments’ legal authority, and beyond the intent of NEPA. It’s a trial lawyer’s dream. Ultimately, it’s a process designed to incentivize economic suppression rather than economic stimulation.
“The Administration has shown no justification for this guidance. The right way to strengthen NEPA is through the Congressional process, not through top-down draft guidance that leaves the American people on the sideline. This draft guidance should be withdrawn by the Administration immediately before more damage is done."
Visit the website for more information on the hearing and witnesses.
