Ag Groups Welcome NEPA Reforms

Agriculture groups welcome the announced changes by the Trump Administration to the National Environmental Policy Act. The White House says the final rule will modernize and accelerate environmental reviews under NEPA so infrastructure can be built in a timely, efficient, and affordable manner. President Donald Trump says, “By streamlining infrastructure approvals, we’ll further expand America’s unprecedented economic boom.” The Ag Retailers Association supports the reforms. ARA President and CEO Daren Coppock says the final rule will speed up the approval process for much-needed infrastructure projects, “which will especially benefit the rural communities in which ag retailers and their customers live and work.” The Fertilizer Institute applauded the rule's finalization, stating, "Many of our members have been negatively impacted by outdated NEPA guidelines.” However, Environmental groups object. Natural Resources Defense Council CEO and Obama-era Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy says the rule "is a clear attempt to silence and sideline people to make it easier for industry to pollute our communities.”