Protect NEPA: Speak Up for Your Right to Speak Up!
Action Expired
The Trump administration is threatening the right to speak up about government projects that affect our communities and the mountains we love in Western NC.
What’s NEPA?
The National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, is such a basic part of our lives that we usually don’t even think about it. It’s what allows citizens to have a say about the plans for government projects that will affect the places they live, and requires the government to consider the environment when making critical decisions about road building, land management, permit applications and more.
It’s NEPA that allows everyday people to comment on the Forest Service’s Nantahala-Pisgah Forests Management Plan, or to know the costs and impacts of projects like the I-26 expansion before they occur. NEPA keeps these decisions from being made in the dark, and by requiring plan alternatives, it saves tax dollars.
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is proposing revisions to NEPA that will undo the core principles of the act. We have until August 20 to submit public comments to defend NEPA.
How Has NEPA Helped Western North Carolina? A Few Examples:
1. “The Road to Nowhere”NEPA analysis showed that the “Road to Nowhere” along the north shore of Fontana Lake in Smoky Mountains National Park was too expensive and too destructive to build. This resulted in the preservation of the largest roadless area in the Southern Appalachians (pictured here) and a $52 million dollar settlement for Swain County to fund schools and other services. |
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2. The Sugar House Cove Timber SaleThe NEPA process documented a wealth of rare species at the Sugar House Cove Timber Sale in Pisgah National Forest in Big Ivy in 1994. The plans for the timber sale were changed to avoid rare species habitat. |
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3. The Upper Santeetlah Timber SaleThe NEPA process documented old-growth forests rivaling those at Joyce Kilmer during the Upper Santeetlah Timber Sale in 2010, allowing these trees to gain legal protection. |
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4. The I-26 Connector ProjectNEPA allowed for consideration of additional alternatives for the I-26 Connector Project, including a community-designed alternative that ended up being chosen for the project. NEPA also provided the opportunity for community advocates and the NC Department of Transportation to work together to address concerns so that the final project will be better and cheaper. |
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5. Bluff Mountain Timber SaleThe NEPA process documented the potential harms of building six miles of road on Bluff Mountain, and allowed Pisgah National Forest to redesign the Bluff Timber Sale so that it would not impact water quality or the Appalachian Trail. |
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