Party Links Environmental Law to Delay, Paperwork, Lawsuits

House Republicans are hoping to rewrite one of the nation’s most sweeping environmental laws –in a way that could change how the government gauges the impact of its actions on the land, sea and air.

For 36 years the government has relied on the National Environmental Policy Act to serve as a check on federal activities that have a “significant impact” on the environment. The law requires federal officials to determine whether such things as highway construction and flood-control projects will alter the surrounding landscape. And it allows citizens to challenge the government’s conclusions. Its scope is so broad, the government conducts 50,000 “environmental assessments” a year.

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