Burgum Celebrates Icing Public Out By Gutting America’s Bedrock Environmental Protection Law
Eliminating 80% of National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) Ices Public Out of Decisions and Undermines Informed Decision-Making
HELENA, MT – Today, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum celebrated the administration's sweeping dismantling of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), announcing that Environmental Impact Statement reviews will now be completed in just 28 days, with Environmental Assessments compressed to a mere 14 days. The gutting of NEPA, justified under President Trump’s ‘national energy emergency’ order, effectively eliminates the twin pillars of NEPA: informed decision-making and meaningful public participation.
“Icing the public out of decisions that impact our public lands and outdoors is a surefire way to make sure polluters get to exploit them, which is exactly what Secretary Burgum wants,” said Save Our Parks spokesperson Jayson O’Neill. “Make no mistake, the gutting of America’s bedrock environmental law by Burgum will result in costly lawsuits, more pollution, and less public participation when monied interests and extractive corporations want access to our public resources and public lands.”
Gutting America’s Bedrock Environmental Law includes:
Compression of Environmental Impact Statement reviews to just 28 days
Reduction of Environmental Assessment timelines to just 14 days
Elimination of meaningful public comment periods (reduced to 10 days before the 28-day review)
Removal of requirements to consider cumulative environmental impacts
Streamlined approval process bypassing consultation with affected communities and tribal nations
Fast-track permitting for oil, gas, coal, uranium, and mineral extraction with minimal oversight
Burgum has set out to replace NEPA with a yet-to-be unveiled artificial intelligence paradigm, which would also largely remove human experts from decisions protecting our outdoor environment. Former NEPA practitioners have called the 28-day timeline for Environmental Impact Statements ‘physically impossible,’ noting that comprehensive environmental reviews typically involve extensive data collection, scientific analysis, consultation with multiple agencies and stakeholders, and careful consideration of alternatives. The average EIS currently takes several years to complete. Environmental groups and legal experts have called Burgum’s dismantling of America’s foundational environmental protections as ‘a direct assault on democracy.’
Burgum’s already pushed fast-track approvals, slashed Interior Department staff through DOGE, cut one-quarter of park employees, and consolidated most of the department under his own office. Gutting NEPA and eliminating the twin pillars is just another part of Burgum and this administration’s anti-public land Project 2025 agenda implementation and their fail-by-design plan to allow for the selloff of public lands and privatization of parks.
The new ‘alternative arrangements for NEPA compliance’ take effect immediately and apply to all pending energy development projects on federal public lands, including equity stake foreign mining corporations. ’Selloff’ Steve Pearce, the controversial Bureau of Land Management director nominee, will have a hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee on Wednesday.
To speak with Save Our Parks spokesperson Jayson O’Neill, email jayson@focalpointstrategygroup.com.
###
