the restoration project · 2020. 11. 13. · 7 how the restoration project did its work the...

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AIR POLLUTION AND EMISSIONSSubmitted notice of intent to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate

agreement • Rescinded 2013 President's Climate Action Plan and 2014 Climate Action

Plan Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions • Revoked Executive Order 13653

“Preparing the US for the Impacts of Climate Change” • Proposed doubling the time

allowed to remove lead pipes from community water systems with unsafe levels of

lead • Revised the New Source Review program to reduce the EPA’s oversight of industry

actions and protections from communities • Approved construction of the Dakota Access

Pipeline less than a mile from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation • Exempting certain

types of power plants from limiting toxic discharge into public waterways • Weakened the

standards for fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions for passenger cars and light

trucks • Reversed the position of the EPA and entered into a legal settlement with

a Canadian corporation seeking to build the Pebble Mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay

watershed • Replaced the Clean Power Plan with a new version, the A�ordable Clean

Energy Rule, that would let states set their own standards for carbon emissions from coal

and gas-fired power plants • Weakened o�shore drilling safety regulations implemented

following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill • Revoked a presidential

directive for federal agencies to minimize impacts on water, wildlife, land and other natural

resources when approving development projects • Proposed opening most of America’s

coastal waters to o�shore oil and gas drilling • Allowed leases and permits for drilling in

the formerly closed Arctic National Wildlife Refuge • Reduced the size of two national

monuments in Utah • Proposed limiting the studies used by the EPA for rulemaking to only

those that make all data publicly available • Eliminated the EPA’s National Center for

Environmental Research which funds scientific research on children’s health and

environmental health disparities • Removed or struck climate change and associated text

from federal plans, reports, and websites • Reorganized the Department of Interior into

“super-regions”, removing career leadership and replacing them with political leadership

THE RESTORATION PROJECTReversing the Environmental Harms of the Trump Administration

PART II

Introduction

Purpose

Scope

How the Report is Organized

How the Restoration Project Did Its Work

A Strategy for Action

The 100 Environmental Harms in Priority Order

The Top 50 Environmental Harms by Category in Priority Order

Air Pollution and Emissions

Drilling and Extraction

Infrastructure and Planning

Fish, Wildlife, Parks and Public Lands

Toxic Substances and Safety

Water Pollution

Agency Effectiveness

The Top 50 Environmental Harms by Agency Responsible for Restorative Action in Priority Order

Office of the President

Environmental Protection Agency

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

US Forest Service

Department of the Interior

Council on Environmental Quality

Army Corps of Engineers

National Park Service

State Department

Department of the Treasury

The Additional Environmental Harms (51 to 100) in Priority Order

Conclusion

Appendices

Methods

Restoration Team Members

Acknowledgement

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INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTIONThe four years of the Trump administration have witnessed an unprecedented assault on the environmental safety of our communities, the conservation of our natural resources, and the protection of our national heritage. The Trump administration failed to confront climate change or to collaborate with other countries in responding to this crisis. It rejected science and subverted scientific information critical to sound policy making, from regulating toxic chemicals to responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. It denied environmental justice for rural towns, tribal nations, suburban neighborhoods, and cities throughout America, particularly for underrepresented and underserved communities. It recklessly exploited public lands for development and eliminated vital land protections. The cumulative and future environmental harms perpetrated by the Trump administration threaten the well-being of the nation and have eroded our international leadership role.

While the damage is profound, the Biden administration can reverse these harms, restart and restore the nation’s commitment to clean air and water, thriving and sustainable communities, cherished parks and public lands, and shared economic prosperity. What is urgently needed is a restoration of American environmental values, and a tactical plan for accomplishing that essential project.

PURPOSEThe purpose of the Restoration Project is to provide President Biden’s transition team and administration a researched, curated, and prioritized list of the most immediate and important actions that can be achieved to reverse the environmental harms done by the Trump administration. These actions can be initiated and/or accomplished by executive order, administrative action, regulation, or policy during the first 100 days of the Biden presidency and throughout the first term of his administration. In some cases, the Biden administration may call upon Congress for legislative action to reverse a harm.

SCOPEThe Restoration Project focuses on identifying critical environmental harms by the Trump administration, and describing the restorative actions needed to:

1. reverse the degradation of environmental protection and lands and waters stewardship,

2. restart fundamental environmental policy, workforce, science, and public engagement programs that have been stopped, ignored, or sidelined, and

3. restore the federal commitment to environmental protection and lands and waters stewardship.

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INTRODUCTION

The restorative actions can be taken by the Office of the President, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), Army Corps of Engineers (ACE), and the Departments of the Interior (DOI), Agriculture (USDA), Treasury (USDT), Justice (DOJ), State (DOS), Transportation (USDOT), and Commerce (USDOC) as well as individual agencies within these departments such as the National Park Service (NPS), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

The Restoration Project is not a “visioning” exercise or a framework for new initiatives to be taken by the Biden administration. It is a specific tactical plan to stop and reverse harms, restart critical programs, and restore protection and stewardship. These actions are essential to “clearing the way” for new initiatives and to create opportunities for further progress.

HOW THE REPORT IS ORGANIZEDThe report identifies and prioritizes 100 specific environmental harms done by the Trump administration. For each harm it provides a brief background to the issue, the restorative action needed to reverse the harm, and the office or agency of government responsible for the action.1 These are important tactical tools for change, and the report can be used as a reference guide by the Biden transition team and members of the new Biden administration.

Part I of the report introduces the Restoration Project and identifies as examples several crucial harms to be reversed. These harms are organized around six themes important to the Biden administration:

• Confronting and Collaborating on Climate Change,• Achieving Environmental Justice for All,• Building Sustainable Economic Prosperity,• Restoring Stewardship of America’s Parks and Public Lands and Waters,• Advancing Science for the Public Good, and• Restoring the Effectiveness of Federal Agencies.

Part II of the report (this document) includes a list of all 100 harms in priority order, and then focuses on the 50 most critical harms to be reversed in the first 100 days of the Biden administration. These harms are ranked by priority and presented in a set of general categories (such as “Air and Water Pollution”) and by the agency responsible for action (such as the EPA). Part II also includes the additional 50 harms evaluated by the Restoration Project, providing the background, restorative action, and responsible agency for each harm. Appendices include a list of acronyms used in the report, the methods used by the Restoration Project team, a list of team members, and acknowledgements.

1 Each harm is identified with a specific number corresponding to its priority order as evaluated by the Restoration Project team.

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HOW THE RESTORATION PROJECT DID ITS WORKThe Restoration Project began by the co-chairs assembling a diverse team of individuals with experience in government, science, non-profit organizations, law, and communications (the members of the Restoration Project Team are listed in the appendices). An inventory of harms was adapted, summarized, and updated from a variety of sources including the Federal Register, the US Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, individual federal agency websites, and multiple news outlets or advocacy organizations including the New York Times, the Center for Western Priorities, the Washington Post, the National Geographic Society, and the Environment and Energy Law program at Harvard Law School. The Restoration Project team discussed, evaluated, and ranked each harm according to several key criteria: urgency, impact, scope, strategic benefit, and ease of action. The team met virtually through the summer and fall of 2020. The report was drafted by the co-chairs, reviewed by team members and a group of selected external reviewers, and revised.

A STRATEGY FOR ACTIONRestoring federal environmental protection and resource stewardship requires a strategy of urgent and accelerated action. The reversal of individual harms is often the administrative responsibility of a specific office or department or agency of government, from the Office of the President to the Office of the EPA Administrator. Coordination is essential, as many of the harms are interdependent—and reversing one harm may accelerate and assist the reversal of other critical harms. In addition, the first 100 days of the Biden administration provides the energy of a fresh administration and new leadership, public expectation of and support for action, and the potential to signal the direction of further progress.

The Restoration Project team recommends that the Biden administration publicly announce its intent to address as many of these harms in the first 100 days as possible. We also recommend that staff at the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) track the restorative actions initiated and/or accomplished by the relevant agencies and regularly report on progress to the President and to the American people.

INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION

NOTES

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The 100 Environmental Harms in Priority Order

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THE 100 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS IN PRIORITY ORDER

#1: Submitted notice of intent to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement

#2: Rescinded the 2013 President’s Climate Action Plan and 2014 Climate Action Plan Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions

#3: Revoked Executive Order 13653 “Preparing the US for the Impacts of Climate Change”

#4: Revoked a presidential directive for federal agencies to minimize impacts on water, wildlife, land and other natural resources when approving development projects

#5: Weakened the standards for fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions for passenger cars and light trucks

#6: Proposed limiting the studies used by the EPA for rulemaking to only those that make data publicly available

#7: Proposed opening most of America’s coastal waters to offshore oil and gas drilling

#8: Eliminated and streamlined some permitting regulations and relaxed the environmental review process to speed construction of public infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges, and pipelines

#9: Proposed more than doubling the time allowed to remove lead pipes from community water systems with unsafe levels of lead

#10: Withdrew and loosened directives and guidance to federal agencies meant to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions

#11: Opened millions of acres of public land for oil and gas leases across the western US

#12: Stopped payments to the Green Climate Fund, the United Nations program to help poorer countries reduce carbon emissions

#13: Allowed leases and permits for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

#14: Lifted a freeze on new coal leases on public lands

#15: Removed or struck climate change and associated text from federal plans, reports, and websites

#16: Reduced the size of two national monuments in Utah

#17: Reversed the position of the EPA and entered into a legal settlement with a Canadian corporation seeking to build the Pebble Mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed

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#18: Replaced the Clean Power Plan with a new version, he Affordable Clean Energy Rule, that would let states set their own standards for carbon emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants

#19: Scaled back pollution protections for certain tributaries and wetlands that were regulated under the Clean Water Act

#20: Revised land management plans and developed land use plans to allow increased development, pipelines, drilling, mining, logging, and grazing on federal lands

#21: Overturned guidance that ended US government financing for new coal plants overseas except in rare circumstances

#22: Withdrew a number of Department of the Interior science, climate change and conservation policies

#23: Weakened the standards for carbon dioxide emissions from new, modified, and reconstructed power plants

#24: Allowed leasing for drilling and resource extraction adjacent to Chaco Culture National Historical Park

#25: Approved the Keystone XL Pipeline right of way permit

#26: Eliminated the “net conservation gain” goal for projects that impact federal lands

#27: Weakened the way the Endangered Species Act is applied, making it more difficult to protect wildlife from long-term threats posed by climate change

#28: Weakened EPA guidance designed to limit toxic emissions from major industrial polluters

#29: Rejected a proposed ban on several potentially dangerous chemicals

#30: Weakened the protection of birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act so that incidental takes are not a violation

#31: Revised the New Source Review program to reduce the EPA’s oversight of industry actions and protections for communities from pollution

#32: Proposed authorizing the incidental harming or killing of polar bears in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge during oil and gas exploration

#33: Eliminated the environmental compliance and permitting process for certain projects that cross international borders, such as oil pipelines

#34: Proposed opening more land in the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve for oil drilling

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#35: Withdrew a policy of climate adaptation for the National Park Service under Director’s Order 100

#36: Restricted most environmental impact statements to a maximum of 150 pages and must be completed in 12 months

#37: Reorganized the Department of the Interior into “super-regions”, removing career leadership and replacing them with political leadership

#38: Weakened habitat protections for sage grouse and opened nine million acres of western land to oil and gas drilling

#39: Approved construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline less than a mile from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation

#40: Revoked an Executive Order designed to preserve ocean, coastal and Great Lakes waters in favor of a policy focused on emphasizing using the waters to promote energy production and economic growth

#41: Revoked an Executive Order promoting climate resilience in the northern Bering Sea region of Alaska

#42: Exempting certain types of power plants from limiting toxic discharge into public waterways

#43: Renewed leases for a copper and nickel mining operation on the border of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

#44: Proposed changes to the way cost-benefit analyses are conducted under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and other environmental statutes

#45: Changed Federal Energy Regulatory Commission policy so that the indirect effects of greenhouse gas emissions are not considered in environmental reviews of pipelines

#46: Weakened offshore drilling safety regulations implemented following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill

#47: Proposed weakening rules on offshore oil and gas exploration by floating vessels in the Arctic

#48: Exempted the Tongass National Forest in Alaska from the roadless rule, allowing previously banned logging and road construction

#49: Eliminated the EPA’s National Center for Environmental Research which funds scientific research on children’s health and environmental health disparities

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#50: Reduce conservation protections and open more lands to drilling and mining in western Alaska

#51: Eliminated a proposed rule that required mines to prove they could pay to clean up future pollution

#52: Opened the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument to commercial fishing

#53: Removed blanket rule under the Endangered Species Act that automatically conveys the same protections for threatened species as for endangered species and to reduce critical habitat

#54: Repealed the Bureau of Land Management Planning Rule

#55: Eliminated the requirement that oil and gas companies report methane emissions

#56: Revised and partially repealed a rule limiting methane emissions on federal and tribal land

#57: Limited funding of environmental and community development projects through corporate settlements of federal lawsuits

#58: Proposed plans to speed up and weaken environmental reviews and land management planning processes, including the addition of new exemptions

#59: Weakened the Petroleum Refinery Sector regulations that govern how refineries monitor pollution in surrounding communities

#60: Eliminated the use of a planning system designed to minimize harm from oil and gas activity on sensitive landscapes such as national parks

#61: Weakened the requirement that companies monitor and repair methane leaks from wells, pipes, and storage facilities

#62: Limited the ability of individuals and communities to challenge EPA-issued pollution permits

#63: Weaken Endangered Species Act enforcement regarding incidental harming or killing of endangered species

#64: Allowed elephants shot for sport in Zimbabwe and Zambia to be imported back to the US as trophies

#65: Increased logging of forest on federal land to “prevent future wildfires” like the deadly blazes in California in 2018

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#66: Weakened oversight of state and federal plans to reduce air pollution and regional haze

#67: Streamlined the approval process for drilling for oil and gas in National Forests to allow producing to begin more quickly

#68: Offered the largest-ever 77 million acre oil and gas lease auction in the Gulf of Mexico

#69: Reduce conservation protections by revising the California Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan

#70: Weakened the Endangered Species Act reclassification, listing determination, and critical habitat designation for many species

#71: Eliminated most of the requirements of the 2017 Chemical Disaster Rule aimed at improving safety at sites that use hazardous chemicals

#72: Allow the federal government to issue permits for coal ash waste disposal in Indian Country and some states without review if the disposal site is in compliance with federal regulations

#73: Weakened BLM environmental regulations for water pollution and fracking on federal and Indian lands

#74: Revised the process for permitting incidental harming or killing of eagles

#75: Weakened a portion of the Clean Water Act regulations to limit states’ power to veto pipeline and other infrastructure projects due to water quality concerns

#76: Weakened standards for mercury emissions from coal power plants by creating a new method of calculating the costs and benefits of curbing mercury pollution

#77: Canceled existing rule and proposed revising limits on the number of endangered marine mammals and sea turtles that can be unintentionally killed or injured with sword-fishing nets on the West Coast

#78: Repealed the Stream Protection Rule

#79: Rescinded regulations meant to reduce leaking and venting of powerful greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons from large refrigeration and air conditioning systems

#80: Approved chemicals out of compliance with the Toxic Substances Control Act as amended in 2016

#81: Weakened regulations regarding mining for gold, copper, and other “locatable minerals” on public lands

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#82: Withdrew a proposed regulation requiring groundwater protections for certain uranium mines

#83: Allowed coastal replenishment projects to use sand from protected ecosystems

#84: Weakened the rule requiring industry reporting on the release of toxic perfluorinated “forever” chemicals into the environment

#85: Permitted the use of seismic air guns for gas and oil exploration in the Atlantic Ocean

#86: Approved a land exchange agreement that will allow a remote Alaskan village to construct a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge

#87: Allowed states and the EPA to take longer to develop and approve plans aimed at cutting methane emissions from existing landfills

#88: Ended a ban on certain controversial sport hunting practices in National Preserves and Wildlife Refuges in Alaska

#89: Proposed amending regulations regarding grazing on public lands to allow grazing to reduce wildfire risk

#90: Repealed the rule that state and regional authorities track tailpipe emissions from vehicles on federal highways

#91: Eliminated the requirement that Gulf oil rig owners prove they can cover the costs of removing rigs once they stop producing

#92: Proposed expanding hunting and fishing in national wildlife refuges

#93: Proposed expanding off-road vehicle access and increased motorized use on some National Park Service areas

#94: Allow individual property owners to veto area listing on the National Register of Historic Places

#95: Weakened restrictions on pesticide application in agricultural buffer zones

#96: Loosened fishing restrictions intended to reduce bycatch of Atlantic Bluefin tuna

#97: Ease permitting of rights-of-way across lands managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service

#98: Amend permitting regulations to increase offshore wind development

#99: Allow religious use of eagle feathers by non-Native Americans

#100: Eliminate the 15-day protest period on timber sales from BLM public lands

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The Top 50 Environmental Harms by Category in Priority Order

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AIR POLLUTION AND EMISSIONS

Air Pollution and Emissions

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#1: SUBMITTED NOTICE OF INTENT TO WITHDRAW THE UNITED STATES FROM THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT BACKGROUNDThe Paris Agreement was an addition to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, initially agreed to by all 195 countries including the United States at the December 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Emissions targets for each nation were separately negotiated and are voluntarily enforced, leading United States officials to regard the Paris Agreement as an executive agreement rather than a legally binding treaty. This removed the requirement for the United States Congress to ratify the agreement. In April 2016, the United States became a signatory to the Paris Agreement, and accepted it by President Obama’s executive order in September 2016. On November 4, 2019, the Secretary of State of the Trump administration formally notified the United Nations that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Agreement. The withdrawal went into effect November 4, 2020.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can announce its intent to rejoin the Paris Agreement and publicly commit to the goals in the agreement.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYOffice of the President

#2: RESCINDED THE 2013 PRESIDENT’S CLIMATE ACTION PLAN AND 2014 CLIMATE ACTION PLAN STRATEGY TO REDUCE METHANE EMISSIONS BACKGROUNDIn 2013 and 2014, President Obama issued the administration’s Climate Action Plan and the Climate Action Plan Strategy that set specific goals for reduction in carbon emissions, transition to renewable energy, and addressing climate change. In addition, the plans required significant reductions in methane emissions, a greenhouse gas that is often released into the atmosphere during oil and gas development. President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 13873, issued in March of 2017, specifically rescinded these two plans and called for all federal agencies to halt any climate change response and instead work on the opening of public lands for fossil fuel production and weakening of regulations on the release of greenhouse gases.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can update and release new versions of both the Climate Action Plan and the Climate Action Plan Strategy to set specific targets for the federal agencies, and revoke President Trump’s EO.


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#3: REVOKED EXECUTIVE ORDER 13653 “PREPARING THE US FOR THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGEBACKGROUNDExecutive Order 13653, “Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change” was issued by President Barack Obama on November 1, 2013. The EO mandated a comprehensive, government-wide program to address climate change impacts and prepare for a rapidly changing climate. The EO addressed transportation, energy, public lands, infrastructure, natural resources, and active stakeholder engagement. The EO directed the agencies to manage climate risks with deliberate preparation, cooperation, and coordination in order to effectively improve resilience. Agencies were directed to coordinate and communicate across all levels of government and begin the transition to renewable energy and away from fossil fuels. The EO was rescinded by President Trump on March 28, 2017 and replaced with Executive Order 13783 “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth” which eliminated many of the climate change directives and emphasized the development of oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy resources.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden Administration can revoke the Trump EO and replace it with a new one that both addresses climate change response and a renewed emphasis on renewable energy.


#5: WEAKENED THE STANDARDS FOR FUEL ECONOMY AND GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FOR PASSENGER CARS AND LIGHT TRUCKSBACKGROUNDThe Trump administration rolled back the 2012 rule agreed to by automakers (the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE) which required automakers’ fleets to average 54 miles per gallon by 2025 by implementing a new rule that requires automakers’ fleets to average 40 miles per gallon, a 26% reduction in efficiency. The final rule lowering the standard to 40 miles per gallon is expected sometime in 2020.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONIf finalized, the Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act. If the rule is not finalized, then the Biden administration can withdraw the rule.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYEnvironmental Protection Agency

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#10: WITHDREW AND LOOSENED DIRECTIVES AND GUIDANCE TO FEDERAL AGENCIES MEANT TO REDUCE CARBON DIOXIDE AND OTHER GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONSBACKGROUNDOn March 19th, 2015 President Obama issued an EO requiring all federal departments and agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% within ten years. It also directed agencies to use the “social cost of carbon”, which is an estimate of the long-term economic benefits of reducing carbon emissions. The social cost of carbon at the end of the Obama presidency was set at roughly $40 for each ton of carbon dioxide. At that price, the benefits of Obama’s proposals to reduce emissions outweighed the economic costs. The Trump administration ordered a new calculation and ordered agencies to use procedures that devalued carbon. The Trump administration also withdrew NEPA guidance directing federal agencies to include greenhouse gas emissions in environmental reviews.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can repeal and replace this EO with a new one that restores the responsibility of the federal agencies to consider their contributions to greenhouse emissions and update the analysis for the social cost of carbon.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYCouncil on Environmental Quality

#12: STOPPED PAYMENTS TO THE GREEN CLIMATE FUND, THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAM TO HELP POORER COUNTRIES REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS BACKGROUNDThe Green Climate Fund is a global platform to respond to climate change by investing in low-emission and climate-resilient development. The Green Climate Fund was established by 194 governments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries and to help vulnerable societies adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change. The US along with many other nations pledged to provide a total of $100 billion by 2020 to the Fund to assist poorer countries in achieving low carbon economies. In 2014 the Obama administration pledged $3 billion to the fund – the biggest pledge to date. $1 billion has been delivered but President Trump stopped the planned additional contribution of $2 billion.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can live up to its international commitment to assist other nations fight climate change and send the full pledge amount to the Fund.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYState Department

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#18: REPLACED THE CLEAN POWER PLAN WITH A NEW VERSION, THE AFFORDABLE CLEAN ENERGY RULE, THAT WOULD LET STATES SET THEIR OWN STANDARDS FOR CARBON EMISSIONS FROM COAL AND GAS-FIRED POWER PLANTS BACKGROUNDThe Clean Power Plan issued by the Obama administration would have set strict federal limits on carbon emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants. The Trump administration’s plan replaces these limits with varying and less stringent emission standards set by the states. Three implementing final rules were published in April of 2019. All three are in litigation.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal one or more of the rules under the Congressional Review Act. The Biden administration could also reverse the position of the Trump administration in litigation.


#23: WEAKENED THE STANDARDS FOR CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS FROM NEW, MODIFIED, AND RECONSTRUCTED POWER PLANTS BACKGROUNDIn 2015, the EPA published a final rule, “GHG New Source Performance Standards for Power Plants”, also known as “Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New, Modified, and Reconstructed Power Plants.” The rule regulates carbon pollution from new or refurbished power plants. In addition, this rule triggers the EPA obligation to regulate carbon pollution from existing power plants. In December 2018 the Trump administration’s EPA issued a Federal Register Notice of a new rule for the Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New, Modified, and Reconstructed Power Plants that removed partial carbon capture and storage as a best practice. This rule has not been finalized and is in litigation (North Dakota v. EPA, No. 15-1381).

RESTORATIVE ACTIONIf the rule is finalized by the end of the Trump administration, then the Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act. If it is not finalized, it can be withdrawn by the Biden administration.


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#28: WEAKENED EPA GUIDANCE DESIGNED TO LIMIT TOXIC EMISSIONS FROM MAJOR INDUSTRIAL POLLUTERS BACKGROUNDSince 1995 the EPA has classified sources of hazardous air pollutants as “major sources” or “area sources” and they are regulated differently. EPA guidance directed pollution sources that are regulated under the “major source” standard to deploy the “maximum achievable control technology” (MACT) indefinitely, an interpretation that “once in, always in” based on a “plain language reading” of the Clean Air Act. The Trump administration’s EPA issued guidance to states that once a pollution source brought its air emissions below the threshold for a major source, it can be reclassified as an area source, which is the weaker standard. The policy is a revision to long-standing interpretation of the Clean Air Act.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThis was not regulatory and can be revised with a new policy interpretation and guidance from the Biden administration.


#31: REVISED THE NEW SOURCE REVIEW PROGRAM TO REDUCE THE EPA’S OVERSIGHT OF INDUSTRY ACTIONS AND PROTECTIONS FOR COMMUNITIES FROM POLLUTIONBACKGROUNDThe New Source Review rules under the Clean Air Act were designed to safeguard communities from increases in pollution through a pre-construction permitting regime that requires facilities to install pollution control technology in certain instances that are tailored to the specific circumstances of a given area. The revisions by the Trump administration creates a more lenient New Source Review regime including policy guidance and regulations that combine to allow for much more harmful effects upon communities located near such facilities. Only a few of the rules are final and many are still in process.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration via the EPA Administrator could repeal and replace the policy guidance on how the New Source Review program is implemented.


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Drilling and Extraction

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#7: PROPOSED OPENING MOST OF AMERICA’S COASTAL WATERS TO OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS DRILLING BACKGROUNDUnder the Continental Outer Shelf Lands Act of 1953 (OCSLA), in January 2017 a final five-year plan (2017-2022) and Record of Decision was issued for oil and gas leasing on specific areas of the Outer Continental Shelf. The plan did not include leasing proposals in the north or mid-Atlantic and portions of the Arctic Ocean. In December 2016, using his authority under Section 12(a) of OCSLA, President Obama withdrew most of the OCS in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, protecting beaches and coastlines from impact. On April 28, 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order 13795 directing the Secretary of the Interior to revise the Obama five-year plan and revoked Obama’s 12(a) withdrawals. The Secretary issued Secretarial Order 3350 on May 1, 2017, which further directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to develop a new National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. The Draft Proposed Plan for the 2019-2024 Program would make more than 98% of the Outer Continental Shelf resources available for oil and gas leasing during that period. A federal judge ruled in March 2019 that President Trump’s reversal of President Obama’s Section 12(a) withdrawal of drilling in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans was unlawful. The case is on appeal. More recently, the Trump administration issued a Presidential Memorandum under Section 12(a) of OCLSA that withdrew portions of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico off the shore of Florida in response to southern Governors’ opposition to oil and gas development offshore.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can continue implementation of the Obama era 5-year plan as well as begin planning on the new 5-year plan. The Biden administration can also drop the legal defense of President Trump’s attempt to reverse the Obama moratorium on coastal water oil and gas leasing based on the Alaska district court ruling and abide by the Obama era Section 12(a) withdrawal. The Biden administration can also address President Trump’s most recent Section 12(a) withdrawal of the southern Atlantic OCS from energy development to confirm its scope to only fossil fuel development.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYDepartment of the Interior

#11: OPENED MILLIONS OF ACRES OF PUBLIC LAND FOR OIL AND GAS LEASES ACROSS THE WESTERN US BACKGROUNDUnder the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and other statutes, the BLM offers lands for oil and gas development through a process of planning and public auction. The agency is required by law to hold quarterly lease sales and parcels are frequently sold for the minimum sufficient bid amount, which is $2 dollars an acre. Once leased, the rights to develop are difficult to rescind. The Trump Administration has been leasing lands at a greatly accelerated rate, often in areas with high recreation and wildlife values, including areas critical to the Greater Sage Grouse.

DRILLING AND EXTRACTION

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RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden Administration can redesign the BLM’s approach to oil and gas leasing by taking into account climate impacts, the notable oversupply of leased public land, historical understaffing of oil and gas oversight activities, and evolving priorities for tribes and communities around the country. The Biden administration will also have the authority to administratively withdraw an area of public land from leasing for a period of 20 years.


#13: ALLOWED LEASES AND PERMITS FOR DRILLING IN THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE BACKGROUNDThe 19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was established by Congress in 1960 to protect its fragile ecosystem, abundant wildlife such as caribou and polar bears, and the subsistence of Native Alaskans. It has been legislatively protected from oil and gas exploration for over the last 50 years. The 2017 tax bill passed by the Republican-controlled House and Senate lifted the ban on oil and gas development in portions of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Since then the Trump administration has been aggressively pursuing the leasing of 1.5 million acres of the Refuge for oil and gas development. The BLM has completed an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to allow the leasing to proceed, but the agency has not yet identified a date for the lease sale. Meanwhile the BLM is processing an application for seismic testing on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge that, if approved, could start as soon as January 2021.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONEven if a lease sale is held before the change in administration, formally issuing an oil lease often takes months to complete, which may give the Biden Administration the ability to void the lease sale results. The new administration could also restart the NEPA process, not issue permits for exploration, and seek Congressional action on restoring the protection of the Refuge.


#14: LIFTED A FREEZE ON NEW COAL LEASES ON PUBLIC LANDS BACKGROUNDIn 2016 President Obama directed the Secretary of the Interior, in order to provide a fair return to the taxpayer, to issue a moratorium on new leasing of coal from federal lands to begin the nation’s transition from fossil fuels. This action was reversed in 2017 by Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. In a subsequent court challenge, in April 2019, a judge ruled that the Department of the Interior could not begin selling new leases without completing an environmental review. In February, the agency published an environmental assessment that concluded restarting federal coal leasing would have little environmental impact. That environmental assessment is being challenged in court for its inadequacy.

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RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can reissue the moratorium on coal leasing, determine next steps on the prior programmatic NEPA review regarding coal, and change the Department of Justice’s position on defending the environmental assessment.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYDepartment of the Interior, Department of Justice

#16: REDUCED THE SIZE OF TWO NATIONAL MONUMENTS IN UTAH BACKGROUNDThe designation of national monuments is an executive power of the President established under the Antiquities Act of 1906. It has been used by almost all Presidents since Teddy Roosevelt to protect federally owned lands and waters for their unique historic and scientific resources. In 1996, President Clinton established the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument on 1.8 million acres of BLM lands by proclamation, prompting controversy in the nearby Utah communities. Since then, the monument has become a popular destination benefiting local economies. On December 28, 2016, President Obama established Bears Ears National Monument on 1.3 million acres in Utah managed by the BLM, USFS and NPS. Bears Ears National Monument was designated following extensive public meetings, opportunities for local government input, and meaningful tribal support, as well as some local opposition. On December 4, 2017, President Trump ordered that the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument be reduced in size by nearly 47% to 1,003,863 acres and Bears Ears National Monument by 85%. Trump’s action represents the largest reduction of public lands protection in US history. Because presidential authority to reduce an established national monument in size presents a novel legal question, the Trump administration is currently defending the unlawful revocation of these two monuments (among others) in federal court.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can abandon the legal defense of President Trump’s revocation of these national monuments and confirm the long-standing position that the Antiquities Act does not permit successor presidents to dismantle prior presidents’ designations of national monuments. President Biden can restore both of these national monuments by Proclamation. The Biden administration can also legally challenge any mining claims that have been located and rescind any land use authorizations that have been issued within the boundaries of the original monuments.


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#17: REVERSED THE POSITION OF THE EPA AND ENTERED INTO A LEGAL SETTLEMENT WITH A CANADIAN CORPORATION SEEKING TO BUILD THE PEBBLE MINE IN ALASKA’S BRISTOL BAY WATERSHED BACKGROUNDPebble Mine is a large porphyry copper, gold, and molybdenum mineral deposit in the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska, near Lake Iliamna and Lake Clark. The land is owned by the State of Alaska. The Pebble Mines Corporation holds mineral rights for 186 square miles of the area. In 2015 the EPA released its Proposed Determination limiting mining in the Bristol Bay region due to the irreversible and detrimental impacts it would have on the local salmon ecosystem. In 2019, the Trump administration revoked the Proposed Determination, clearing the way for the firm to apply for federal permits. In July 2020, the ACE declared in a final environmental analysis that the operation of a Pebble Mine “would not be expected to have a measurable effect on fish numbers” in the Bristol Bay watershed. On August 24, 2020, the ACE issued a notice that stated they would be unable to issue a permit for the mine due to “significant degradation of the environment and would likely result in significant adverse effects on the aquatic system or human environment.”

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can initiate new procedures and analysis to block this proposal and any permits from the EPA or the ACE.


#21: OVERTURNED GUIDANCE THAT ENDED US GOVERNMENT FINANCING FOR NEW OVERSEAS COAL PLANTS EXCEPT IN RARE CIRCUMSTANCES BACKGROUNDThe Trump administration published new Department of the Treasury “Guidance for U.S. Positions on Multilateral Development Banks (MDB) Engaging on Energy Projects and Policies” which instructs U.S. representatives on the executive boards of MDBs to vote to “help countries access and use fossil fuels more cleanly and efficiently.” Experts say that this means voting “yes” to most future coal projects that come up for approval. These would previously have been turned down under guidance provided by President Obama in 2013, which made it difficult to use public resources to support coal projects except in rare circumstances. This is a policy document issued by the State Department.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can issue a new policy that encourages use of renewable energy rather than coal.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYDepartment of the Treasury and State Department

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#25: APPROVED THE KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE RIGHT OF WAY PERMIT BACKGROUNDThe Keystone Pipeline System is a transboundary pipeline that traverses lands in both Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy Corporation and the Government of Alberta. It runs from Alberta, Canada to refineries in Illinois and Texas and to oil tank farms and an oil pipeline distribution center in Oklahoma. On November 3, 2015 Secretary of State John Kerry issued a determination that the project was not in the public interest and the Keystone XL Pipeline was rejected by President Obama’s administration. On January 24, 2017 President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum to permit the Keystone pipeline. Since then, a federal judge blocked the project from going forward without an adequate environmental review process. President Trump later attempted to sidestep the ruling by issuing a presidential permit. Initial construction has started, but the project remains in litigation. A portion of the pipeline is proposed to cross federal land under the authority of the BLM. In order to construct the pipeline across BLM lands, the developer must have a “Right of Way” permit. The Obama administration denied the permit, based on the recommendations from the DOI and the EPA. The Trump administration issued the Right of Way permit in January of 2020.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration could rescind the Right of Way permit if construction has not begun and make a determination the project is not in the public interest. The Biden Administration can also reconsider the role of the State Department in determinations of transboundary pipelines.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYState Department

#33: ELIMINATED THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE AND PERMITTING PROCESS FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS THAT CROSS INTERNATIONAL BORDERS SUCH AS OIL PIPELINES BACKGROUNDOil pipelines and other similar projects that cross international borders with the US are subject to compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the regulations of the relevant federal agency such as the NPS or BLM. In April 2019, President Trump issued Executive Order 13867 “Issuance of Permits With Respect to Facilities and Land Transportation Crossings at the International Boundaries of the United States”. This EO moved the permitting process to the Office of the President which exempts the projects from NEPA compliance, public comment, and any environmental review.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can repeal this EO and allow such proposals to be handled by the appropriate federal agency and be subject to NEPA compliance and public input.


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#34: PROPOSED OPENING MORE LAND IN THE ALASKA NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE FOR OIL DRILLING BACKGROUNDThe National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A), is a 23 million acre unit of federal land on the western side of Alaska’s North Slope. Ecologically it is globally significant as it provides breeding grounds for birds from every continent in addition to being home to the United States’ largest caribou herd. The Obama administration’s Department of the Interior developed a management plan in 2013 designating about half the reserve open to oil development and half protected for its wildlife and cultural values. In June 2020, the Trump administration’s BLM issued a final EIS that would make 82% of the NPR-A available for oil drilling. The new plan will likely be finalized before the end of 2020. A lease sale could follow in early 2021. Even before the new management plan is issued, environmental advocates have challenged the adequacy of the EIS in federal court in Alaska.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can restart the EIS process, but may also have the ability to rescind the new plan and reject any leases that are purchased at auction, if one is held in the waning days of the Trump administration.


#39: APPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF THE DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE LESS THAN A MILE FROM THE STANDING ROCK SIOUX RESERVATION BACKGROUNDThe Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) or Bakken pipeline is a 1,172-mile-long underground oil pipeline that runs from northwest North Dakota and continues through South Dakota and Iowa to an oil terminal near Patoka, Illinois. The Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) is responsible for evaluating and issuing permits for all water crossings under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and Sections 10 and 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. ACE permits are required for 202 crossings of the pipeline of jurisdictional waters. One such crossing was located at the Missouri River a half mile north of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation on aboriginal land of the Sioux Nation. Historic levels of protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline occurred on the project site north of the reservation because of concerns about the pipeline’s impact on the environment, including harm to downstream tribal water rights and treaty rights, and to sites sacred to Native Americans. Based on the concerns raised by affected tribes, the Obama administration in the fall of 2016 paused the project calling for more in-depth environmental review. In Feb. 2017 the Trump administration announced it had adequate information to issue the permit. This past year, a federal judge ruled that the DAPL must be emptied while the ACEproduces a more comprehensive environmental review through issuance of an EIS under NEPA instead of an environmental assessment. The issue remains in litigation and currently the pipeline can operate but the permit to expand is being challenged on appeal (United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Case No. 1-16-cv-01534-JEB).

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RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can comply with the district court’s order and seek to abandon the appeal and conduct an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under NEPA as ordered by the court. The administration can also explore other avenues for resolving this significant, environmental justice case regarding indigenous rights and climate change.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYArmy Corps of Engineers

#40: REVOKED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER DESIGNED TO PRESERVE OCEAN, COASTAL, AND GREAT LAKES WATERS IN FAVOR OF A POLICY FOCUSED ON EMPHASIZING USING THE WATERS TO PROMOTE ENERGY PRODUCTION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH BACKGROUNDIn July of 2010, President Obama issued EO 13547 “Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes”, establishing a council to promote conservation and sustainable use of US waters. The EO put a priority on conservation. In June of 2018, President Trump issued Executive Order 13840 “Executive Order Regarding the Ocean Policy to Advance the Economic, Security, and Environmental Interests of the United States”. It rescinded the EO issued by President Obama and emphasized energy development along the coasts.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can revoke the Trump EO and issue a new EO on protection of the oceans, coasts, and the Great Lakes.


#43: RENEWED LEASES FOR A COPPER AND NICKEL MINING OPERATION ON THE BORDER OF MINNESOTA’S BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESSBACKGROUNDTwin Metals Minnesota, a subsidiary of Chilean mining company Antofagasta PLC, is seeking permits to open a large copper mine in the Boundary Waters area of Minnesota. The original mineral leases were sold in 1966, predating NEPA. The Obama administration denied the renewal of the leases and started a NEPA review due to the failure to diligently produce the lease and the need for an updated assessment of the impacts of leasing on the Boundary Waters region. In September 2018 the USDA canceled the study. In addition, the DOI reinstated the mineral rights leases for the copper-nickel mine, reversing the former Solicitor’s analysis on the issue. Most recently, the Trump administration granted prospecting permits in the region during the pandemic with no opportunity for public input. These actions are the subject of litigation.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can assess the status of the litigation and consider its policy options with regard to the recent lease renewal and issuance of prospecting permits. They can also restart the process for considering a long-term mineral withdrawal in the Boundary Waters area and seek a permanent withdrawal from Congress.

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RESPONSIBLE AGENCYDepartment of the Interior and Department of Agriculture

#45: CHANGED FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION POLICY SO THAT THE INDIRECT EFFECTS OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ARE NOT CONSIDERED IN ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS OF PIPELINES BACKGROUNDFossil fuel impact analysis is characterized and regulated by different agencies as “upstream”, “midstream” and “downstream”. Production is upstream, transmission is midstream, and end-use is downstream. The emissions that are created through gas extraction are upstream effects because they happen before the gas is transported to market. Emissions created through burning gas at power plants are downstream effects because they happen after the gas is transported. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) generally regulates the midstream infrastructure that transports gas from production facilities to end-users. In May of 2018 FERC issued a new policy interpretation of its authority to consider the effects of greenhouse gas. FERC oversees the siting and approval of interstate natural gas pipelines, and will no longer consider upstream and downstream environmental impacts that it claims fall outside of its review requirements under the NEPA. This included a declaration that FERC will no longer prepare upper-bound greenhouse gas emissions estimates for a proposed project when it asserts that those emissions fall outside of its NEPA requirements.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can direct CEQ to restore Obama-era policy and regulations on the consideration of greenhouse gas and climate change. FERC would have to follow those regulations as an independent federal agency.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYFederal Energy Regulatory Commission

#46: WEAKENED OFFSHORE DRILLING SAFETY REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTED FOLLOWING THE 2010 DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION AND OIL SPILL BACKGROUNDFollowing the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, the DOI underwent a significant reorganization and issued rules and guidance to fill regulatory gaps in emergency response and operational oversight for offshore drilling. These included enhanced requirements for blowout prevention systems, worker safety, clean-up, and inspections. New regulations promoted by the Trump administration weaken these requirements, posing heightened risk from deep water drilling activities that can harm marine and coastal environments and local economies. In September of 2018 the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) issued a final rule that weakens Gulf oil spill, safety, and clean-up.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act.


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#47: PROPOSED WEAKENING RULES ON OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION BY FLOATING VESSELS IN THE ARCTICBACKGROUNDIn July 2016 the Obama administration issued new Arctic-specific regulations focused on Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) exploratory drilling operations from floating vessels within the U.S. Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. These rules required oil companies to ensure proper internal controls and planning for oil spill prevention, containment and responses – all issues identified by previous DOI reports regarding Royal Dutch Shell 2012 exploration activities in the Arctic. The regulations codified and further developed current Arctic-specific operational standards to ensure that operators take the necessary steps to plan through all phases of OCS exploration in the Arctic, including mobilization, maritime transport, emergency response, and the conduct of safe drilling operations. In the fall of 2019, the BSEE issued a notice that it would be revising the Obama-era rule which will weaken the standards of environmental protection and safety. This new rule is expected to be finalized sometime in 2020.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONIf the rule is not final, the Biden administration can direct the DOI to maintain the existing rule to protect Arctic waters. If final, the Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act.


#48: EXEMPTED THE TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST IN ALASKA FROM THE ROADLESS RULE, ALLOWING PREVIOUSLY BANNED LOGGING AND ROAD CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUNDIn January 2001 the Clinton administration issued a “roadless rule” preventing road construction and logging on 58 million acres of undeveloped National Forest lands. The rule was challenged but finalized in December of 2002 and included protecting 9 million acres of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. In October 2019 the USFS announced it would exempt the Tongass National Forest from the roadless rule, opening it up to road construction and logging. The final rule was released October 28, 2020. Actual construction of roads may trigger NEPA compliance which will be delayed in court.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act. In the interim, the new administration can place a moratorium on issuing permits for any timber sales or road construction in the Tongass National Forest.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYUS Forest Service

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#50: REDUCE CONSERVATION PROTECTIONS AND OPEN MORE LANDS TO DRILLING AND MINING IN WESTERN ALASKA BACKGROUNDAreas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) are BLM designations that highlight areas where special management attention is needed to protect important historical, cultural, and scenic values, fish and wildlife, or other natural resources. They are designated during the BLM Land Management Planning process. The Bering Sea-Western Interior (BSWI) Planning Area is located in western Alaska and encompasses approximately 62 million acres of land, including 13 million acres managed by the BLM. The planning area extends south from the Central Yukon watershed through the Kuskokwim River watershed, including all lands west of Denali National Park and Preserve to the Bering Sea. This 13 million-acre planning zone contains areas vital to Alaska Natives who depend on the fish and wildlife that the habitat supports. In March of 2019, the BLM released the draft BSWI Draft Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement. BLM’s preferred alternative in the plan would eliminate 1.8 million acres of ACECs and propose no new ACECs despite the request by Alaska Native communities to preserve 7 million acres of traditional use areas. The plan is not finalized.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can restart the planning process and prioritize consideration of new or expanded Areas of Critical Environmental Concern and Alaska Native traditional use.


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Infrastructure and Planning

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INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANNING

#4: REVOKED A DIRECTIVE FOR FEDERAL AGENCIES TO MINIMIZE IMPACTS ON WATER, WILDLIFE, LAND AND OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES WHEN APPROVING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS BACKGROUNDPresident Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum on November 3, 2015 “Mitigating Impacts on Natural Resources from Development and Encouraging Related Private Investment” which underscored the importance of effectively mitigating adverse impacts to land, water, wildlife, and other ecological resources and having clear and consistent approaches to impact avoidance, minimization, and compensatory mitigation. President Trump issued Executive Order 13783 “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth” which revoked the Obama Memorandum and placed a priority on economic development rather than conservation of air, water, wildlife, parks and public lands. This has resulted in a cascade of effects to the resources of the nation, from delisting of endangered species to the opening of public lands to development.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can revoke and replace Executive Order 13783 and issue new guidance to the federal agencies to restore conservation as a priority.


#8: ELIMINATED AND STREAMLINED PERMITTING REGULATIONS AND RELAXED THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS TO SPEED CONSTRUCTION OF PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, SUCH AS ROADS, BRIDGES, AND PIPELINES BACKGROUNDIn January of 2015 President Obama issued Executive Order 13690 “Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard”. The EO required the federal government to account for sea level rise and other climate change effects in construction of federally funded projects. In January 2017 President Trump issued Executive Order 13771 and in May 2020, Executive Order 13924, both of which direct federal agencies to reduce or eliminate regulations that may impede development projects. These sweeping executive orders eliminate consideration of sea level rise or other climate change impacts and streamline permitting to speed construction of roads, bridges, and pipelines that require government permits. The EOs also put in place a “one federal decision policy” under which one lead federal agency works with others to complete environmental reviews and other permitting decisions for a given project. All decisions on federal permits will have to be made within 90 days (an unreasonable time frame in which to truly consider the impacts of complex projects, with or without climate change consideration), and agencies will have a two-year goal to process environmental reviews for major projects. The Trump administration additionally proposed a sweeping overhaul of the NEPA that would limit the scope of environmental concerns federal agencies need to take into account when constructing public infrastructure projects.

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RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can revoke both of these EOs and put in place new EOs to consider sea level rise and climate change in evaluating and permitting infrastructure projects, and reverse the one federal decision policy and truncated time frames for NEPA compliance.


#20: REVISED LAND MANAGEMENT PLANS AND DEVELOPED LAND USE PLANS TO ALLOW INCREASED DEVELOPMENT, PIPELINES, DRILLING, MINING, LOGGING, AND GRAZING ON FEDERAL LANDS BACKGROUNDThe BLM is responsible for 247 million acres or 1/8 of the landmass of the United States. The agency manages wilderness, outdoor recreation, cultural sites, as well as resource development such as oil, gas, coal, timber, and gravel. The agency’s challenge is to meet all these objectives with stewardship ethos and good public planning. The Trump administration has proposed BLM land management plans for significant resource development with far less land protected and to no longer require NEPA compliance for land management plans. The new guidance abandons master leasing planning and returns to the inadequate practice of site specific analysis with regard to impacts from energy development on public lands.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can withdraw this policy direction and set new and balanced priorities for the BLM. BLM could seek permission from Congress to restore the Planning 2.0 rule that was blocked under the Congressional Review Act at the beginning of the Trump administration.


#22: WITHDREW A NUMBER OF DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR SCIENCE, CLIMATE CHANGE AND CONSERVATION POLICIESBACKGROUNDThe Trump administration DOI rescinded an array of policies designed to elevate climate change and conservation in decisions on managing public lands, waters and wildlife. Secretarial Order 3360, signed by then-Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, rescinded four separate directives and policy manuals aimed at guiding DOI employees on how to minimize the environmental impact of activities on federal land and in federal waters. The SO also calls for the review of a fifth Obama administration SO which applies to the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The Trump administration SO directs officials to reinstate and update guidance issued during the final year of George W. Bush’s second term. The SO explains that the policies were rescinded because they were “potential burdens” to domestic energy resource development and utilization.

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RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can withdraw this SO.


#26: ELIMINATED THE “NET CONSERVATION GAIN” GOAL FOR PROJECTS THAT IMPACT FEDERAL LANDS BACKGROUNDIn the past decade, federal land managers have focused their efforts on off-site “compensatory mitigation,” a policy embraced by the Obama administration. It requires project proponents to offset their impact on public land by paying into a program to restore similar habitat off-site. The goal of this program was to have “net conservation” from public land development. This program was halted by an August 2018 Policy Memorandum from the Acting Director of the BLM, eliminating the requirement of compensatory mitigation. Developers who use public lands are now no longer required to provide off-site mitigation for their impacts.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can withdraw the Policy Memorandum and issue new net conservation goals and compensatory mitigation requirements.


#35: WITHDREW A POLICY OF CLIMATE ADAPTATION FOR THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE UNDER DIRECTOR’S ORDER 100 BACKGROUNDIn response to the recommendations of the National Park System Advisory Board’s 2012 report Revisiting Leopold, the NPS developed a new policy document, Director’s Order 100 that gave guidance to the NPS for addressing climate change, incorporating traditional ecological knowledge, and redefining resource management goals. The Director’s Order was developed over a period of years with internal and public input. Secretary of the Interior Zinke directed the acting Director of the National Park Service to rescind the Director’s Order 100 in August of 2017.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can direct the Secretary of the Interior and the NPS Director to reinstate Director’s Order 100.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYNational Park Service

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#36: RESTRICTED MOST ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS TO A MAXIMUM OF 150 PAGES AND MUST BE COMPLETED IN 12 MONTHS BACKGROUNDThe National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1970 promotes the protection of the environment and requires an analysis of and public input for any federal decision or undertaking that may significantly affect the environment. The product of NEPA for public input is the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and has been the bedrock of federal decision making for highways, airports, railroads, seaports, and other projects for 50 years. The Trump administration’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in January of 2020 issued a proposed rulemaking affecting all NEPA compliance. The proposed rule significantly reduces public involvement, and narrows the scope of alternatives and impact review as well as limits the time for completion of EISs to 12 months, even for major projects. In practice these rules would produce documents inadequate to the thoughtful decision-making they are designed to facilitate in addition to limiting the public engagement that makes for better and better supported projects. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on July 15, 2020 and became effective on September 4, 2020

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden Administration can announce in the Federal Register a new rulemaking.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYCouncil on Environmental Quality

#41: REVOKED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER PROMOTING CLIMATE RESILIENCE IN THE NORTHERN BERING SEA REGION OF ALASKA BACKGROUNDThe Northern Bering Sea Climate Change Resilience strategy was put into place through Executive Order 13754 by President Obama. It promoted climate resilience and restrictions on development of the Arctic ocean, withdrew local waters from oil and gas leasing, and established a tribal advisory council to consult on local environmental issues. President Trump signed Executive Order 13795 in May of 2017 that rolled back not only outer continental shelf oil and gas development restrictions in the Arctic, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, but also revoked President Obama’s EO.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can revoke the Trump EO and issue a new one protecting the Arctic Oceans from development.


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Fish, Wildlife, Parks and Public Lands

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FISH, WILDLIFE, PARKS AND PUBLIC LANDS

#24: ALLOWED LEASING FOR DRILLING AND RESOURCE EXTRACTION ADJACENT TO CHACO CULTURE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK BACKGROUNDThe Chaco Culture National Historical Park is the historic site of a major cultural center for ancestral Puebloans and holds significance for many neighboring tribes and pueblos. The park and surrounding landscape was designated under UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987. This is the largest collection of ancient ruins north of Mexico and highly vulnerable to damage from the vibrations of oil and gas extraction on nearby public lands. In 2016, the Department of the Interior began a land management planning effort that was considering a buffer around specific sacred areas and was paused to allow for tribal consultation, but in the spring of 2020, despite the covid-19 pandemic, Secretary Bernhardt resumed the planning process to consider potential drilling in the region over the objections of local tribes and pueblos that they were unable to participate in the planning process due to the pandemic.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can cancel plans for any new leases and implement a Secretarial mineral withdrawal for 20 years. The Biden administration can seek legislative action to create a buffer zone around the park to protect sacred areas and to respect Native American cultural values associated with the area. The Biden administration should also consider the interests of Navajo allottees’ in developing any solution moving forward.


#27: WEAKENED THE WAY THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT IS APPLIED, MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT TO PROTECT WILDLIFE FROM LONG-TERM THREATS POSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE BACKGROUNDSince passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, the economic impacts of saving an endangered species have not been placed as a priority over the science, population, or habitat in decision making. The Trump administration’s USFWS and NOAA issued new regulations in August 2019 that allowed reference to economic considerations when designating an endangered animal’s habitat by eliminating an express regulatory provision that prohibited referring to the economic impacts of listing an endangered or threatened species. In addition, it changed how the risks facing threatened species are weighed by including the definition of “foreseeable future” to “only so far into the future as the Services can reasonably determine that the conditions potentially posing a danger of extinction in the foreseeable future are probable” . This change in effect eliminates any consideration of climate change as a factor in listing a species. The DOI completed the final rule change in August 2019. The new regulation is the subject of litigation.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process.


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#30: WEAKENED THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS UNDER THE MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT SO THAT INCIDENTAL TAKES ARE NOT A VIOLATION BACKGROUNDThe Trump administration DOI Solicitor issued an “M” opinion in December 2017 that reversed a former Solicitor’s M opinion under the Obama administration, changing a 40-year old interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). This was followed by an instructional memorandum to the USFWS in April 2018 directing the agency to not prosecute violations unless the killing of a migratory bird was intentional. In May 2020, the USFWS released an EIS that addressed the specific changes to the rules governing the take (killing) of migratory birds. This is a significant rollback of policy aimed at protecting migratory birds. The Trump administration decreed it will no longer consider the accidental killing of birds - from eagles colliding with wind turbines to ducks killed on power lines - a violation of the MBTA. The MTBA had previously been interpreted as forbidding “incidental takes” which are the accidental yet foreseeable deaths of birds from industrial activity. The DOI stated in a Solicitor’s opinion that it will no longer prosecute oil and gas, wind, and solar operators that accidentally kill birds. The rollback potentially runs afoul of treaties with Canada and Mexico. A federal court has struck down the Solicitor Opinion’s reversal of the long-standing interpretation of the Department. In light of this ruling, a new regulation supporting the new Solicitor’s opinion is not likely in the near term.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can review its options in light of the adverse federal court ruling against the Trump administration’s interpretation that the MBTA does not prohibit incidental take.


#32: PROPOSED AUTHORIZING THE INCIDENTAL HARMING OR KILLING OF POLAR BEARS IN THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE DURING OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION BACKGROUNDThe DOI has the authority to allow the killing of polar bears during oil and gas exploration of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) but has not done so yet. It has proposed authorizing the incidental take of polar bears on the coastal plain of the ANWR during oil and gas exploration, seismic surveys, and associated activities.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can issue policy guidance that incidental take of polar bears will not be authorized.


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#38: WEAKENED HABITAT PROTECTIONS FOR SAGE GROUSE AND OPENED NINE MILLION ACRES OF WESTERN LAND TO OIL AND GAS DRILLING BACKGROUNDThe sage grouse is a threatened but not yet technically endangered species that is an indicator of ecosystem health across the interior west.The 2015 Greater Sage-Grouse Resource Management Plan was developed by the Obama administration as a series of state-level plans to protect and manage tens of millions of acres of sage grouse habitat. Effective implementation of the plan would prevent the listing of the sage grouse as an endangered species, which could have a dramatic impact on critical activities in these regions including cattle grazing and fire management. In June 2017 Secretary of Interior Zinke issued Secretarial Order 3353, placing a greater emphasis on energy development in sage grouse habitat. In March 2019, the BLM finalized amendments to the Greater Sage-Grouse Resource Management Plan reducing protection of sage grouse habitat in the West. The recent actions are in litigation.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can change the position of the government in the litigation and begin the process to restore the original intent of the plan.


Toxic Substances and Safety

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TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND SAFETY

#6: PROPOSED LIMITING THE STUDIES USED BY THE EPA FOR RULEMAKING TO ONLY THOSE THAT MAKE DATA PUBLICLY AVAILABLE BACKGROUNDIn 2018 the EPA proposed a rule that would restrict the agency from considering studies that do not reveal raw data, including confidential or personal identifying information. This restriction would have a chilling effect on epidemiological studies that enroll human subjects, such as those examining lifetime effects of exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals. A supplementary rule expands this exclusion to include dose-response models, a critical study tool of environmental toxicology that is needed to inform rulemaking. This rule would allow the EPA to “cherry-pick” its data regardless of the consensus over toxicological or epidemiological data available for a given hazardous chemical. The rule would be retroactive, allowing the EPA to undo previous regulations by discounting the underlying scientific studies. The EPA anticipates a final rule in late 2020.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can withdraw the rule if it is not final. If it is final, the Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act.


#29: REJECTED A PROPOSED BAN ON SEVERAL POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS CHEMICALS BACKGROUNDChlorpyrifos is a pesticide linked to developmental disabilities in children. After scientific studies determined its toxicity, the Obama administration’s EPA banned its use in 2015. Several states have banned its use and the main manufacturer of the pesticide in 2020 stopped producing the product because of shrinking demand. In March 2017 the Trump administration EPA Administrator issued an order rejecting the ban on chlorpyrifos.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can reinstate the ban with an EPA order.


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#49: ELIMINATED THE EPA’S NATIONAL CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH WHICH FUNDS SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON CHILDREN’S HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES BACKGROUNDThe EPA’s National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) is perhaps best known for its research on the effects of chemicals on children’s health. The NCER provides grants to Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Centers, which were established in 1988 to discover methods to reduce children’s health risks from environmental factors. The Trump administration announced in Feb 2018 a reorganization of the EPA, terminating the NCER and reassigning its scientists to other programs at EPA. The EPA completed the reorganization and eliminated this office.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can re-establish the NCER and return NCER scientists to its programs.


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Water Pollution

52

WATER POLLUTION

#9: PROPOSED MORE THAN DOUBLING THE TIME ALLOWED TO REMOVE LEAD PIPES FROM COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEMS WITH UNSAFE LEVELS OF LEAD BACKGROUNDExposure to lead has a serious impact on people’s mental capacity, especially children, who can suffer lifelong diminished learning capacity through exposure at even low levels. For years, the EPA has known that no level of lead exposure is “safe,” especially for children. As the crisis in Flint, Michigan laid bare, awareness of the issue and the inadequacy of rules surrounding prevention of lead exposure through water delivered to people’s homes grew. Despite national calls to improve those rules, the Trump administration’s EPA proposed regulations extending the timeline for removal of lead water pipes in November of 2019, with anticipated final regulations in the fall of 2020 (RIN:2040-AF15).

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can withdraw the rule if it is not finalized. If it is final the Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act.


#19: SCALED BACK POLLUTION PROTECTIONS FOR CERTAIN TRIBUTARIES AND WETLANDS THAT WERE REGULATED UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACTBACKGROUNDThe Trump Administration repealed and instructed agencies to revamp a major Obama-era clean water regulation known as the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule, which defined which streams and wetlands are protected by the Clean Water Act. Wetlands serve as the nursery for myriad species of fish, birds and mammals, provide buffers for rising seas, sequester carbon at high levels, and many other benefits. Many areas of the country have lost over 90% of these critical lands to development. The WOTUS rule unambiguously gave the EPA and ACE broad authority to regulate the pollution of wetlands and tributaries that run into the nation’s navigable rivers, and also gave clear guidance to help developers, farmers, and communities predict and plan where and how to safely develop. States, developers, farmers, communities, and residents relied on federal expertise and regulatory determinations to efficiently protect the environment by allowing for appropriate development. The Trump Administration EPA and ACE published a final rule in April 2020 redefining the waters of the US and restricting federal jurisdiction significantly, excluding protections for more than half of wetlands and one-fifth of streams in the United States that had previously been covered under the rule. The new narrow definition would leave many important wetlands and streams vulnerable to pollution from sources including concentrated animal feeding operations, industrial facilities, and urban stormwater. It could constrain pollution prevention efforts by the EPA for rivers, streams, and lakes. It puts an increased burden on states to regulate and protect water systems. ACE would lose authority over significant wetlands, opening them up to development and sacrificing wetlands’ flood control capabilities, climate change sequestration capacity, and other crucially important ecosystem benefits.

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WATER POLLUTION

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can confer with the Department of Justice on litigation strategy regarding the WOTUS rule and announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process.


#42: EXEMPTING CERTAIN TYPES OF POWER PLANTS FROM LIMITING TOXIC DISCHARGE INTO PUBLIC WATERWAYSBACKGROUNDOn September 30, 2015, the Obama administration’s EPA finalized a rule revising the regulations for the Steam Electric Power Generating category (40 CFR Part 423). The rule sets the first federal limits on the levels of toxic metals in wastewater that can be discharged from power plants, based on technology improvements in the steam electric power industry over the last three decades. These metals can have a profound negative effect upon freshwater and marine life. Beginning in 2018, power plants would have had to show they were using the most up-to-date technology to remove heavy metals including lead, arsenic, mercury, and other pollutants from their wastewater. In 2019, the EPA proposed amending the regulation to provide exemptions for power plants dumping toxic metals such as arsenic and mercury into waterways. The EPA issued a Federal Register Notice in November 2019. No final rule date is proposed.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONIf there is a final rule in 2020, the Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act.


#44: PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE WAY COST-BENEFIT ANALYSES ARE CONDUCTED UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT, CLEAN WATER ACT, AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL STATUTESBACKGROUNDThe Trump administration EPA issued proposed rulemaking in June 2020 that would eliminate consideration of “co-benefits” - the reduction of pollutants not directly targeted by rulemaking - and calculate benefits only from reducing target pollutants. Previously, co-benefits were included in assessing cost-benefit to more accurately calculate/illustrate the true benefits of regulations. For example, reducing the amount of pollutants to meet a particular standard can have the co-benefit of reducing pollutants that harm public health, property, or the environment in addition to the particular issue driving the regulation. The new proposed cost-benefit analysis would limit consideration of only the economic impact of a proposed rule without taking into account possible benefits such as public health to justify expanding regulations, as has previously been done.

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WATER POLLUTION



Agency Effectiveness

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AGENCY EFFECTIVENESS

#15: REMOVED OR STRUCK CLIMATE CHANGE AND ASSOCIATED TEXT FROM FEDERAL PLANS, REPORTS, AND WEBSITESBACKGROUNDThe Trump administration has often substituted inaccurate terms such as “resiliency” for “climate change”; systematically altered US Government websites to eliminate mention of climate change (notably by the DOI and EPA); struck “climate change” and associated text from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) strategic plan; dropped climate change from list of national security threats; and removed the word “science” from EPA’s Office of Science and Technology mission statement.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can issue an executive order or multiple agency directives to reinstate climate change in all appropriate federal plans, reports, websites, communications and subsequent plans.


#37: REORGANIZED THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR INTO “SUPER-REGIONS”, REMOVING CAREER LEADERSHIP AND REPLACING THEM WITH POLITICAL LEADERSHIPBACKGROUNDEach of the bureaus of the DOI have specific environmental responsibilities. The USFWS protects wildlife refuges and enforces the Endangered Species Act. The NPS manages and protects national parks and historic sites across the country. The BLM manages lands for a variety of purposes ranging from wilderness areas and national monuments to grazing and energy development. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) implements vital programs and serves federally recognized Indian tribes as part of US trust responsibility. These fundamental roles do not change with each elected administration, though priorities may shift. The Trump administration worked to undermine the effectiveness of the career employees in each of these essential agencies. The Secretary of Interior issued a Memorandum in July 2019 that reorganized the department into new regional boundaries, created new political leadership positions, and forced career employees to move to new geographic locations. This effort essentially removes career public servants from direct contact with their elected leadership, including Congress.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can rescind this Department of the Interior reorganization.


The Top 50 Environmental Harms by Responsible Agency in Priority Order

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OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

#1: SUBMITTED NOTICE OF INTENT TO WITHDRAW THE UNITED STATES FROM THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT BACKGROUNDThe Paris Agreement was an addition to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, initially agreed to by all 195 countries including the United States at the December 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Emissions targets for each nation were separately negotiated and are voluntarily enforced, leading United States officials to regard the Paris Agreement as an executive agreement rather than a legally binding treaty. This removed the requirement for the United States Congress to ratify the agreement. In April 2016, the United States became a signatory to the Paris Agreement, and accepted it by President Obama’s executive order in September 2016. On November 4, 2019, the Secretary of State of the Trump administration formally notified the United Nations that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Agreement. The withdrawal went into effect November 4, 2020.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can announce its intent to rejoin the Paris Agreement and publicly commit to the goals in the agreement.

#2: RESCINDED THE 2013 PRESIDENT’S CLIMATE ACTION PLAN AND 2014 CLIMATE ACTION PLAN STRATEGY TO REDUCE METHANE EMISSIONS BACKGROUNDIn 2013 and 2014, President Obama issued the administration’s Climate Action Plan and the Climate Action Plan Strategy that set specific goals for reduction in carbon emissions, transition to renewable energy, and addressing climate change. In addition, the plans required significant reductions in methane emissions, a greenhouse gas that is often released into the atmosphere during oil and gas development. President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 13873, issued in March of 2017, specifically rescinded these two plans and called for all federal agencies to halt any climate change response and instead work on the opening of public lands for fossil fuel production and weakening of regulations on the release of greenhouse gases.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can update and release new versions of both the Climate Action Plan and the Climate Action Plan Strategy to set specific targets for the federal agencies, and revoke President Trump’s EO.

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#3: REVOKED EXECUTIVE ORDER 13653 “PREPARING THE US FOR THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE BACKGROUNDExecutive Order 13653, “Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change” was issued by President Barack Obama on November 1, 2013. The EO mandated a comprehensive, government-wide program to address climate change impacts and prepare for a rapidly changing climate. The EO addressed transportation, energy, public lands, infrastructure, natural resources, and active stakeholder engagement. The EO directed the agencies to manage climate risks with deliberate preparation, cooperation, and coordination in order to effectively improve resilience. Agencies were directed to coordinate and communicate across all levels of government and begin the transition to renewable energy and away from fossil fuels. The EO was rescinded by President Trump on March 28, 2017 and replaced with Executive Order 13783 “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth” which eliminated many of the climate change directives and emphasized the development of oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy resources.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden Administration can revoke the Trump EO and replace it with a new one that both addresses climate change response and a renewed emphasis on renewable energy.

#4: REVOKED A DIRECTIVE FOR FEDERAL AGENCIES TO MINIMIZE IMPACTS ON WATER, WILDLIFE, LAND AND OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES WHEN APPROVING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS BACKGROUNDPresident Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum on November 3, 2015 “Mitigating Impacts on Natural Resources from Development and Encouraging Related Private Investment” which underscored the importance of effectively mitigating adverse impacts to land, water, wildlife, and other ecological resources and having clear and consistent approaches to impact avoidance, minimization, and compensatory mitigation. President Trump issued Executive Order 13783 “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth” which revoked the Obama Memorandum and placed a priority on economic development rather than conservation of air, water, wildlife, parks and public lands. This has resulted in a cascade of effects to the resources of the nation, from delisting of endangered species to the opening of public lands to development.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can revoke and replace Executive Order 13783 and issue new guidance to the federal agencies to restore conservation as a priority.

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#8: ELIMINATED AND STREAMLINED PERMITTING REGULATIONS AND RELAXED THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROCESS TO SPEED CONSTRUCTION OF PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, SUCH AS ROADS, BRIDGES, AND PIPELINESBACKGROUNDIn January of 2015 President Obama issued Executive Order 13690 “Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard”. The EO required the federal government to account for sea level rise and other climate change effects in construction of federally funded projects. In January 2017 President Trump issued Executive Order 13771 and in May 2020, Executive Order 13924, both of which direct federal agencies to reduce or eliminate regulations that may impede development projects. These sweeping executive orders eliminate consideration of sea level rise or other climate change impacts and streamline permitting to speed construction of roads, bridges, and pipelines that require government permits. The EOs also put in place a “one federal decision policy” under which one lead federal agency works with others to complete environmental reviews and other permitting decisions for a given project. All decisions on federal permits will have to be made within 90 days (an unreasonable time frame in which to truly consider the impacts of complex projects, with or without climate change consideration), and agencies will have a two-year goal to process environmental reviews for major projects. The Trump administration additionally proposed a sweeping overhaul of the NEPA that would limit the scope of environmental concerns federal agencies need to take into account when constructing public infrastructure projects.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can revoke both of these EOs and put in place new EOs to consider sea level rise and climate change in evaluating and permitting infrastructure projects, and reverse the one federal decision policy and truncated time frames for NEPA compliance.

#15: REMOVED OR STRUCK CLIMATE CHANGE AND ASSOCIATED TEXT FROM FEDERAL PLANS, REPORTS, AND WEBSITESBACKGROUNDThe Trump administration has often substituted inaccurate terms such as “resiliency” for “climate change”; systematically altered US Government websites to eliminate mention of climate change (notably by the DOI and EPA); struck “climate change” and associated text from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) strategic plan; dropped climate change from list of national security threats; and removed the word “science” from EPA’s Office of Science and Technology mission statement.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can issue an executive order or multiple agency directives to reinstate climate change in all appropriate federal plans, reports, websites, communications and subsequent plans.

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#16: REDUCED THE SIZE OF TWO NATIONAL MONUMENTS IN UTAHBACKGROUNDThe designation of national monuments is an executive power of the President established under the Antiquities Act of 1906. It has been used by almost all Presidents since Teddy Roosevelt to protect federally owned lands and waters for their unique historic and scientific resources. In 1996, President Clinton established the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument on 1.8 million acres of BLM lands by proclamation, prompting controversy in the nearby Utah communities. Since then, the monument has become a popular destination benefiting local economies. On December 28, 2016, President Obama established Bears Ears National Monument on 1.3 million acres in Utah managed by the BLM, USFS and NPS. Bears Ears National Monument was designated following extensive public meetings, opportunities for local government input, and meaningful tribal support, as well as some local opposition. On December 4, 2017, President Trump ordered that the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument be reduced in size by nearly 47% to 1,003,863 acres and Bears Ears National Monument by 85%. Trump’s action represents the largest reduction of public lands protection in US history. Because presidential authority to reduce an established national monument in size presents a novel legal question, the Trump administration is currently defending the unlawful revocation of these two monuments (among others) in federal court.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can abandon the legal defense of President Trump’s revocation of these national monuments and confirm the long-standing position that the Antiquities Act does not permit successor presidents to dismantle prior presidents’ designations of national monuments. President Biden can restore both of these national monuments by Proclamation. The Biden administration can also legally challenge any mining claims that have been located and rescind any land use authorizations that have been issued within the boundaries of the original monuments.

#33: ELIMINATED THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE AND PERMITTING PROCESS FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS THAT CROSS INTERNATIONAL BORDERS SUCH AS OIL PIPELINES BACKGROUNDOil pipelines and other similar projects that cross international borders with the US are subject to compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the regulations of the relevant federal agency such as the NPS or BLM. In April 2019, President Trump issued Executive Order 13867 “Issuance of Permits With Respect to Facilities and Land Transportation Crossings at the International Boundaries of the United States”. This EO moved the permitting process to the Office of the President which exempts the projects from NEPA compliance, public comment, and any environmental review.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can repeal this EO and allow such proposals to be handled by the appropriate federal agency and be subject to NEPA compliance and public input.

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#40: REVOKED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER DESIGNED TO PRESERVE OCEAN, COASTAL, AND GREAT LAKES WATERS IN FAVOR OF A POLICY FOCUSED ON EMPHASIZING USING THE WATERS TO PROMOTE ENERGY PRODUCTION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH BACKGROUNDIn July of 2010, President Obama issued EO 13547 “Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes”, establishing a council to promote conservation and sustainable use of US waters. The EO put a priority on conservation. In June of 2018, President Trump issued Executive Order 13840 “Executive Order Regarding the Ocean Policy to Advance the Economic, Security, and Environmental Interests of the United States”. It rescinded the EO issued by President Obama and emphasized energy development along the coasts.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can revoke the Trump EO and issue a new EO on protection of the oceans, coasts, and the Great Lakes.

#41: REVOKED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER PROMOTING CLIMATE RESILIENCE IN THE NORTHERN BERING SEA REGION OF ALASKA BACKGROUNDThe Northern Bering Sea Climate Change Resilience strategy was put into place through Executive Order 13754 by President Obama. It promoted climate resilience and restrictions on development of the Arctic ocean, withdrew local waters from oil and gas leasing, and established a tribal advisory council to consult on local environmental issues. President Trump signed Executive Order 13795 in May of 2017 that rolled back not only outer continental shelf oil and gas development restrictions in the Arctic, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, but also revoked President Obama’s EO.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can revoke the Trump EO and issue a new one protecting the Arctic Oceans from development.

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TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

#5: WEAKENED THE STANDARDS FOR FUEL ECONOMY AND GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FOR PASSENGER CARS AND LIGHT TRUCKS BACKGROUNDThe Trump administration rolled back the 2012 rule agreed to by automakers (the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE) which required automakers’ fleets to average 54 miles per gallon by 2025 by implementing a new rule that requires automakers’ fleets to average 40 miles per gallon, a 26% reduction in efficiency. The final rule lowering the standard to 40 miles per gallon is expected sometime in 2020.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONIf finalized, the Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act. If the rule is not finalized, then the Biden administration can withdraw the rule.

#6: PROPOSED LIMITING THE STUDIES USED BY THE EPA FOR RULEMAKING TO ONLY THOSE THAT MAKE DATA PUBLICLY AVAILABLE BACKGROUNDIn 2018, the EPA proposed a rule that would restrict the agency from considering studies that do not reveal raw data, including confidential or personal identifying information. This restriction would have a chilling effect on epidemiological studies that enroll human subjects, such as those examining lifetime effects of exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals. A supplementary rule expands this exclusion to include dose-response models, a critical study tool of environmental toxicology that is needed to inform rulemaking. This rule would allow the EPA to “cherry-pick” its data regardless of the consensus over toxicological or epidemiological data available for a given hazardous chemical. The rule would be retroactive, allowing the EPA to undo previous regulations by discounting the underlying scientific studies. The EPA anticipates a final rule in late 2020.


#9: PROPOSED MORE THAN DOUBLING THE TIME ALLOWED TO REMOVE LEAD PIPES FROM COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEMS WITH UNSAFE LEVELS OF LEAD BACKGROUNDExposure to lead has a serious impact on people’s mental capacity, especially children, who can suffer lifelong diminished learning capacity through exposure at even low levels. For years, the EPA has known that no level of lead exposure is “safe,” especially for children. As the crisis in Flint, Michigan laid bare, awareness of the issue and the inadequacy of rules surrounding prevention of lead exposure through water delivered to people’s homes grew. Despite national calls to improve those rules, the Trump administration’s EPA proposed regulations extending the timeline for removal of lead water pipes in November of 2019, with anticipated final regulations in the fall of 2020 (RIN:2040-AF15).

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

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RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can withdraw the rule if it is not finalized. If it is final the Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act.

#17: REVERSED THE POSITION OF THE EPA AND ENTERED INTO A LEGAL SETTLEMENT WITH A CANADIAN CORPORATION SEEKING TO BUILD THE PEBBLE MINE IN ALASKA’S BRISTOL BAY WATERSHED BACKGROUNDPebble Mine is a large porphyry copper, gold, and molybdenum mineral deposit in the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska, near Lake Iliamna and Lake Clark. The land is owned by the State of Alaska. The Pebble Mines Corporation holds mineral rights for 186 square miles of the area. In 2015, the EPA released its Proposed Determination limiting mining in the Bristol Bay region due to the irreversible and detrimental impacts it would have on the local salmon ecosystem. In 2019, the Trump administration revoked the Proposed Determination, clearing the way for the firm to apply for federal permits. In July 2020, the ACE declared in a final environmental analysis that the operation of a Pebble Mine “would not be expected to have a measurable effect on fish numbers” in the Bristol Bay watershed. On August 24, 2020, the ACE issued a notice that stated they would be unable to issue a permit for the mine due to “significant degradation of the environment and would likely result in significant adverse effects on the aquatic system or human environment.”

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can initiate new procedures and analysis to block this proposal and any permits from the EPA or the ACE.

#18: REPLACED THE CLEAN POWER PLAN WITH A NEW VERSION, THE AFFORDABLE CLEAN ENERGY RULE, THAT WOULD LET STATES SET THEIR OWN STANDARDS FOR CARBON EMISSIONS FROM COAL AND GAS-FIRED POWER PLANTS BACKGROUNDThe Clean Power Plan issued by the Obama administration would have set strict federal limits on carbon emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants. The Trump administration’s plan replaces these limits with varying and less stringent emission standards set by the states. Three implementing final rules were published in April of 2019. All three are in litigation.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal one or more of the rules under the Congressional Review Act. The Biden administration could also reverse the position of the Trump administration in litigation.

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#19: SCALED BACK POLLUTION PROTECTIONS FOR CERTAIN TRIBUTARIES AND WETLANDS THAT WERE REGULATED UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT BACKGROUNDThe Trump Administration repealed and instructed agencies to revamp a major Obama-era clean water regulation known as the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule, which defined which streams and wetlands are protected by the Clean Water Act. Wetlands serve as the nursery for myriad species of fish, birds and mammals, provide buffers for rising seas, sequester carbon at high levels, and many other benefits. Many areas of the country have lost over 90% of these critical lands to development. The WOTUS rule unambiguously gave the EPA and ACE broad authority to regulate the pollution of wetlands and tributaries that run into the nation’s navigable rivers, and also gave clear guidance to help developers, farmers, and communities predict and plan where and how to safely develop. States, developers, farmers, communities, and residents relied on federal expertise and regulatory determinations to efficiently protect the environment by allowing for appropriate development. The Trump Administration EPA and ACE published a final rule in April 2020 redefining the waters of the US and restricting federal jurisdiction significantly, excluding protections for more than half of wetlands and one-fifth of streams in the United States that had previously been covered under the rule. The new narrow definition would leave many important wetlands and streams vulnerable to pollution from sources including concentrated animal feeding operations, industrial facilities, and urban stormwater. It could constrain pollution prevention efforts by the EPA for rivers, streams, and lakes. It puts an increased burden on states to regulate and protect water systems. ACE would lose authority over significant wetlands, opening them up to development and sacrificing wetlands’ flood control capabilities, climate change sequestration capacity, and other crucially important ecosystem benefits.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can confer with the Department of Justice on litigation strategy regarding the WOTUS rule and announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process.

#23: WEAKENED THE STANDARDS FOR CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS FROM NEW, MODIFIED, AND RECONSTRUCTED POWER PLANTS BACKGROUNDIn 2015, the EPA published a final rule, “GHG New Source Performance Standards for Power Plants”, also known as “Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New, Modified, and Reconstructed Power Plants.” The rule regulates carbon pollution from new or refurbished power plants. In addition, this rule triggers the EPA obligation to regulate carbon pollution from existing power plants. In December 2018, the Trump administration’s EPA issued a Federal Register Notice of a new rule for the Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New, Modified, and Reconstructed Power Plants that removed partial carbon capture and storage as a best practice. This rule has not been finalized and is in litigation (North Dakota v. EPA, No. 15-1381).


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#28: WEAKENED EPA GUIDANCE DESIGNED TO LIMIT TOXIC EMISSIONS FROM MAJOR INDUSTRIAL POLLUTERS BACKGROUNDSince 1995 the EPA has classified sources of hazardous air pollutants as “major sources” or “area sources” and they are regulated differently. EPA guidance directed pollution sources that are regulated under the “major source” standard to deploy the “maximum achievable control technology” (MACT) indefinitely, an interpretation that “once in, always in” based on a “plain language reading” of the Clean Air Act. The Trump administration’s EPA issued guidance to states that once a pollution source brought its air emissions below the threshold for a major source, it can be reclassified as an area source, which is the weaker standard. The policy is a revision to long-standing interpretation of the Clean Air Act.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThis was not regulatory and can be revised with a new policy interpretation and guidance from the Biden administration.

#29: REJECTED A PROPOSED BAN ON SEVERAL POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS CHEMICALS BACKGROUNDChlorpyrifos is a pesticide linked to developmental disabilities in children. After scientific studies determined its toxicity, the Obama administration’s EPA banned its use in 2015. Several states have banned its use and the main manufacturer of the pesticide in 2020 stopped producing the product because of shrinking demand. In March 2017, the Trump administration EPA Administrator issued an order rejecting the ban on chlorpyrifos.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can reinstate the ban with an EPA order.

#31: REVISED THE NEW SOURCE REVIEW PROGRAM TO REDUCE THE EPA’S OVERSIGHT OF INDUSTRY ACTIONS AND PROTECTIONS FOR COMMUNITIES FROM POLLUTION BACKGROUNDThe New Source Review rules under the Clean Air Act were designed to safeguard communities from increases in pollution through a pre-construction permitting regime that requires facilities to install pollution control technology in certain instances that are tailored to the specific circumstances of a given area. The revisions by the Trump administration creates a more lenient New Source Review regime including policy guidance and regulations that combine to allow for much more harmful effects upon communities located near such facilities. Only a few of the rules are final and many are still in process.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration via the EPA Administrator could repeal and replace the policy guidance on how the New Source Review program is implemented.

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#42: EXEMPTING CERTAIN TYPES OF POWER PLANTS FROM LIMITING TOXIC DISCHARGE INTO PUBLIC WATERWAYS BACKGROUNDOn September 30, 2015, the Obama administration’s EPA finalized a rule revising the regulations for the Steam Electric Power Generating category (40 CFR Part 423). The rule sets the first federal limits on the levels of toxic metals in wastewater that can be discharged from power plants, based on technology improvements in the steam electric power industry over the last three decades. These metals can have a profound negative effect upon freshwater and marine life. Beginning in 2018, power plants would have had to show they were using the most up-to-date technology to remove heavy metals including lead, arsenic, mercury, and other pollutants from their wastewater. In 2019, the EPA proposed amending the regulation to provide exemptions for power plants dumping toxic metals such as arsenic and mercury into waterways. The EPA issued a Federal Register Notice in November 2019. No final rule date is proposed.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONIf there is a final rule in 2020, the Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act.

#44: PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE WAY COST-BENEFIT ANALYSES ARE CONDUCTED UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT, CLEAN WATER ACT, AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL STATUTES BACKGROUNDThe Trump administration EPA issued proposed rulemaking in June 2020 that would eliminate consideration of “co-benefits” - the reduction of pollutants not directly targeted by rulemaking - and calculate benefits only from reducing target pollutants. Previously, co-benefits were included in assessing cost-benefit to more accurately calculate/illustrate the true benefits of regulations. For example, reducing the amount of pollutants to meet a particular standard can have the co-benefit of reducing pollutants that harm public health, property, or the environment in addition to the particular issue driving the regulation. The new proposed cost-benefit analysis would limit consideration of only the economic impact of a proposed rule without taking into account possible benefits such as public health to justify expanding regulations, as has previously been done.


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#49: ELIMINATED THE EPA’S NATIONAL CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH WHICH FUNDS SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON CHILDREN’S HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES BACKGROUNDThe EPA’s National Center for Environmental Research (NCER) is perhaps best known for its research on the effects of chemicals on children’s health. The NCER provides grants to Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Centers, which were established in 1988 to discover methods to reduce children’s health risks from environmental factors. The Trump administration announced in Feb 2018 a reorganization of the EPA, terminating the NCER and reassigning its scientists to other programs at EPA. The EPA completed the reorganization and eliminated this office.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can re-establish the NCER and return NCER scientists to its programs.

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TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

#45: CHANGED FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION POLICY SO THAT THE INDIRECT EFFECTS OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ARE NOT CONSIDERED IN ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS OF PIPELINES BACKGROUNDFossil fuel impact analysis is characterized and regulated by different agencies as “upstream”, “midstream” and “downstream”. Production is upstream, transmission is midstream, and end-use is downstream. The emissions that are created through gas extraction are upstream effects because they happen before the gas is transported to market. Emissions created through burning gas at power plants are downstream effects because they happen after the gas is transported. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) generally regulates the midstream infrastructure that transports gas from production facilities to end-users. In May of 2018, FERC issued a new policy interpretation of its authority to consider the effects of greenhouse gas. FERC oversees the siting and approval of interstate natural gas pipelines, and will no longer consider upstream and downstream environmental impacts that it claims fall outside of its review requirements under the NEPA. This included a declaration that FERC will no longer prepare upper-bound greenhouse gas emissions estimates for a proposed project when it asserts that those emissions fall outside of its NEPA requirements.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can direct CEQ to restore Obama-era policy and regulations on the consideration of greenhouse gas and climate change. FERC would have to follow those regulations as an independent federal agency.

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

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TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

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TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - US FOREST SERVICE

#48: EXEMPTED THE TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST IN ALASKA FROM THE ROADLESS RULE, ALLOWING PREVIOUSLY BANNED LOGGING AND ROAD CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUNDIn January 2001, the Clinton administration issued a “roadless rule” preventing road construction and logging on 58 million acres of undeveloped National Forest lands. The rule was challenged but finalized in December of 2002 and included protecting 9 million acres of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. In October 2019, the USFS announced it would exempt the Tongass National Forest from the roadless rule, opening it up to road construction and logging. The final rule was released October 28, 2020. Actual construction of roads may trigger NEPA compliance which will be delayed in court.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act. In the interim, the new administration can place a moratorium on issuing permits for any timber sales or road construction in the Tongass National Forest.

US FOREST SERVICE

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TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - US FOREST SERVICE

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

#7: PROPOSED OPENING MOST OF AMERICA’S COASTAL WATERS TO OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS DRILLING BACKGROUNDUnder the Continental Outer Shelf Lands Act of 1953 (OCSLA), in January 2017 a final five-year plan (2017-2022) and Record of Decision was issued for oil and gas leasing on specific areas of the Outer Continental Shelf. The plan did not include leasing proposals in the north or mid-Atlantic and portions of the Arctic Ocean. In December 2016, using his authority under Section 12(a) of OCSLA, President Obama withdrew most of the OCS in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, protecting beaches and coastlines from impact. On April 28, 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order 13795 directing the Secretary of the Interior to revise the Obama five-year plan and revoked Obama’s 12(a) withdrawals. The Secretary issued Secretarial Order 3350 on May 1, 2017, which further directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to develop a new National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. The Draft Proposed Plan for the 2019-2024 Program would make more than 98% of the Outer Continental Shelf resources available for oil and gas leasing during that period. A federal judge ruled in March 2019 that President Trump’s reversal of President Obama’s Section 12(a) withdrawal of drilling in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans was unlawful. The case is on appeal. More recently, the Trump administration issued a Presidential Memorandum under Section 12(a) of OCLSA that withdrew portions of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico off the shore of Florida in response to southern Governors’ opposition to oil and gas development offshore.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can continue implementation of the Obama era 5-year plan as well as begin planning on the new 5-year plan. The Biden administration can also drop the legal defense of President Trump’s attempt to reverse the Obama moratorium on coastal water oil and gas leasing based on the Alaska district court ruling and abide by the Obama era Section 12(a) withdrawal. The Biden administration can also address President Trump’s most recent Section 12(a) withdrawal of the southern Atlantic OCS from energy development to confirm its scope to only fossil fuel development.

#11: OPENED MILLIONS OF ACRES OF PUBLIC LAND FOR OIL AND GAS LEASES ACROSS THE WESTERN US BACKGROUNDUnder the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and other statutes, the BLM offers lands for oil and gas development through a process of planning and public auction. The agency is required by law to hold quarterly lease sales and parcels are frequently sold for the minimum sufficient bid amount, which is $2 dollars an acre. Once leased, the rights to develop are difficult to rescind. The Trump Administration has been leasing lands at a greatly accelerated rate, often in areas with high recreation and wildlife values, including areas critical to the Greater Sage Grouse.

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RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden Administration can redesign the BLM’s approach to oil and gas leasing by taking into account climate impacts, the notable oversupply of leased public land, historical understaffing of oil and gas oversight activities, and evolving priorities for tribes and communities around the country. The Biden administration will also have the authority to administratively withdraw an area of public land from leasing for a period of 20 years.

#13: ALLOWED LEASES AND PERMITS FOR DRILLING IN THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE BACKGROUNDThe 19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was established by Congress in 1960 to protect its fragile ecosystem, abundant wildlife such as caribou and polar bears, and the subsistence of Native Alaskans. It has been legislatively protected from oil and gas exploration for over the last 50 years. The 2017 tax bill passed by the Republican-controlled House and Senate lifted the ban on oil and gas development in portions of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Since then the Trump administration has been aggressively pursuing the leasing of 1.5 million acres of the Refuge for oil and gas development. The BLM has completed an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to allow the leasing to proceed, but the agency has not yet identified a date for the lease sale. Meanwhile the BLM is processing an application for seismic testing on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge that, if approved, could start as soon as January 2021.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONEven if a lease sale is held before the change in administration, formally issuing an oil lease often takes months to complete, which may give the Biden Administration the ability to void the lease sale results. The new administration could also restart the NEPA process, not issue permits for exploration, and seek Congressional action on restoring the protection of the Refuge.

#14: LIFTED A FREEZE ON NEW COAL LEASES ON PUBLIC LANDS BACKGROUNDIn 2016 President Obama directed the Secretary of the Interior, in order to provide a fair return to the taxpayer, to issue a moratorium on new leasing of coal from federal lands to begin the nation’s transition from fossil fuels. This action was reversed in 2017 by Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. In a subsequent court challenge, in April 2019, a judge ruled that the Department of the Interior could not begin selling new leases without completing an environmental review. In February, the agency published an environmental assessment that concluded restarting federal coal leasing would have little environmental impact. That environmental assessment is being challenged in court for its inadequacy.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can reissue the moratorium on coal leasing, determine next steps on the prior programmatic NEPA review regarding coal, and change the Department of Justice’s position on defending the environmental assessment.

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#20: REVISED LAND MANAGEMENT PLANS AND DEVELOPED LAND USE PLANS TO ALLOW INCREASED DEVELOPMENT, PIPELINES, DRILLING, MINING, LOGGING, AND GRAZING ON FEDERAL LANDS BACKGROUNDThe BLM is responsible for 247 million acres or 1/8 of the landmass of the United States. The agency manages wilderness, outdoor recreation, cultural sites, as well as resource development such as oil, gas, coal, timber, and gravel. The agency’s challenge is to meet all these objectives with stewardship ethos and good public planning. The Trump administration has proposed BLM land management plans for significant resource development with far less land protected and to no longer require NEPA compliance for land management plans. The new guidance abandons master leasing planning and returns to the inadequate practice of site specific analysis with regard to impacts from energy development on public lands.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can withdraw this policy direction and set new and balanced priorities for the BLM. BLM could seek permission from Congress to re-engage in the Planning 2.0 rule that was blocked under the Congressional Review Act at the beginning of the Trump administration.

#22: WITHDREW A NUMBER OF DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR SCIENCE, CLIMATE CHANGE AND CONSERVATION POLICIESBACKGROUNDThe Trump administration DOI rescinded an array of policies designed to elevate climate change and conservation in decisions on managing public lands, waters and wildlife. Secretarial Order 3360, signed by then-Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, rescinded four separate directives and policy manuals aimed at guiding DOI employees on how to minimize the environmental impact of activities on federal land and in federal waters. The SO also calls for the review of a fifth Obama administration SO which applies to the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The Trump administration SO directs officials to reinstate and update guidance issued during the final year of George W. Bush’s second term. The SO explains that the policies were rescinded because they were “potential burdens” to domestic energy resource development and utilization.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can withdraw this SO.

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#24: ALLOWED LEASING FOR DRILLING AND RESOURCE EXTRACTION ADJACENT TO CHACO CULTURE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARKBACKGROUNDThe Chaco Culture National Historical Park is the historic site of a major cultural center for ancestral Puebloans and holds significance for many neighboring tribes and pueblos. The park and surrounding landscape was designated under UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987. This is the largest collection of ancient ruins north of Mexico and highly vulnerable to damage from the vibrations of oil and gas extraction on nearby public lands. In 2016, the Department of the Interior began a land management planning effort that was considering a buffer around specific sacred areas and was paused to allow for tribal consultation, but in the spring of 2020, despite the covid-19 pandemic, Secretary Bernhardt resumed the planning process to consider potential drilling in the region over the objections of local tribes and pueblos that they were unable to participate in the planning process due to the pandemic.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can cancel plans for any new leases and implement a Secretarial mineral withdrawal for 20 years. The Biden administration can seek legislative action to create a buffer zone around the park to protect sacred areas and to respect Native American cultural values associated with the area. The Biden administration should also consider the interests of Navajo allottees’ in developing any solution moving forward.

#26: ELIMINATED THE “NET CONSERVATION GAIN” GOAL FOR PROJECTS THAT IMPACT FEDERAL LANDS BACKGROUNDIn the past decade, federal land managers have focused their efforts on off-site “compensatory mitigation,” a policy embraced by the Obama administration. It requires project proponents to offset their impact on public land by paying into a program to restore similar habitat off-site. The goal of this program was to have “net conservation” from public land development. This program was halted by an August 2018 Policy Memorandum from the Acting Director of the BLM, eliminating the requirement of compensatory mitigation. Developers who use public lands are now no longer required to provide off-site mitigation for their impacts.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can withdraw the Policy Memorandum and issue new net conservation goals and compensatory mitigation requirements.

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#27: WEAKENED THE WAY THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT IS APPLIED, MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT TO PROTECT WILDLIFE FROM LONG-TERM THREATS POSED BY CLIMATE CHANGEBACKGROUNDSince passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, the economic impacts of saving an endangered species have not been placed as a priority over the science, population, or habitat in decision making. The Trump administration’s USFWS and NOAA issued new regulations in August 2019 that allowed reference to economic considerations when designating an endangered animal’s habitat by eliminating an express regulatory provision that prohibited referring to the economic impacts of listing an endangered or threatened species. In addition, it changed how the risks facing threatened species are weighed by including the definition of “foreseeable future” to “only so far into the future as the Services can reasonably determine that the conditions potentially posing a danger of extinction in the foreseeable future are probable” . This change in effect eliminates any consideration of climate change as a factor in listing a species. The DOI completed the final rule change in August 2019. The new regulation is the subject of litigation.


#30: WEAKENED THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS UNDER THE MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT SO THAT INCIDENTAL TAKES ARE NOT A VIOLATIONBACKGROUNDThe Trump administration DOI Solicitor issued an “M” opinion in December 2017 that reversed a former Solicitor’s M opinion under the Obama administration, changing a 40-year old interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). This was followed by an instructional memorandum to the USFWS in April 2018 directing the agency to not prosecute violations unless the killing of a migratory bird was intentional. In May 2020, the USFWS released an EIS that addressed the specific changes to the rules governing the take (killing) of migratory birds. This is a significant rollback of policy aimed at protecting migratory birds. The Trump administration decreed it will no longer consider the accidental killing of birds - from eagles colliding with wind turbines to ducks killed on power lines - a violation of the MBTA. The MTBA had previously been interpreted as forbidding “incidental takes” which are the accidental yet foreseeable deaths of birds from industrial activity. The DOI stated in a Solicitor’s opinion that it will no longer prosecute oil and gas, wind, and solar operators that accidentally kill birds. The rollback potentially runs afoul of treaties with Canada and Mexico. A federal court has struck down the Solicitor Opinion’s reversal of the long-standing interpretation of the Department. In light of this ruling, a new regulation supporting the new Solicitor’s opinion is not likely in the near term.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can review its options in light of the adverse federal court ruling against the Trump administration’s interpretation that the MBTA does not prohibit incidental take.

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#32: PROPOSED AUTHORIZING THE INCIDENTAL HARMING OR KILLING OF POLAR BEARS IN THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE DURING OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION BACKGROUNDThe DOI has the authority to allow the killing of polar bears during oil and gas exploration of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) but has not done so yet. It has proposed authorizing the incidental take of polar bears on the coastal plain of the ANWR during oil and gas exploration, seismic surveys, and associated activities.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can issue policy guidance that incidental take of polar bears will not be authorized

#34: PROPOSED OPENING MORE LAND IN THE ALASKA NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE FOR OIL DRILLING BACKGROUNDThe National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A), is a 23 million acre unit of federal land on the western side of Alaska’s North Slope. Ecologically it is globally significant as it provides breeding grounds for birds from every continent in addition to being home to the United States’ largest caribou herd. The Obama administration’s Department of the Interior developed a management plan in 2013 designating about half the reserve open to oil development and half protected for its wildlife and cultural values. In June 2020, the Trump administration’s BLM issued a final EIS that would make 82% of the NPR-A available for oil drilling. The new plan will likely be finalized before the end of 2020. A lease sale could follow in early 2021. Even before the new management plan is issued, environmental advocates have challenged the adequacy of the EIS in federal court in Alaska.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can restart the EIS process, but may also have the ability to rescind the new plan and reject any leases that are purchased at auction, if one is held in the waning days of the Trump administration.

#37: REORGANIZED THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR INTO “SUPER-REGIONS”, REMOVING CAREER LEADERSHIP AND REPLACING THEM WITH POLITICAL LEADERSHIP BACKGROUNDEach of the bureaus of the DOI have specific environmental responsibilities. The USFWS protects wildlife refuges and enforces the Endangered Species Act. The NPS manages and protects national parks and historic sites across the country. The BLM manages lands for a variety of purposes ranging from wilderness areas and national monuments to grazing and energy development. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) implements vital programs and serves federally recognized Indian tribes as part of US trust responsibility. These fundamental roles do not change with each elected administration, though priorities may shift. The Trump administration worked to undermine the effectiveness of the career employees in each of these essential agencies. The Secretary of Interior issued a Memorandum in July 2019 that reorganized the department into new regional boundaries, created new political leadership positions, and forced career employees to move to new geographic locations. This effort

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essentially removes career public servants from direct contact with their elected leadership, including Congress.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can rescind this Department of the Interior reorganization.

#38: WEAKENED HABITAT PROTECTIONS FOR SAGE GROUSE AND OPENED NINE MILLION ACRES OF WESTERN LAND TO OIL AND GAS DRILLING BACKGROUNDThe sage grouse is a threatened but not yet technically endangered species that is an indicator of ecosystem health across the interior west. The 2015 Greater Sage-Grouse Resource Management Plan was developed by the Obama administration as a series of state-level plans to protect and manage tens of millions of acres of sage grouse habitat. Effective implementation of the plan would prevent the listing of the sage grouse as an endangered species, which could have a dramatic impact on critical activities in these regions including cattle grazing and fire management. In June 2017 Secretary of Interior Zinke issued Secretarial Order 3353, placing a greater emphasis on energy development in sage grouse habitat. In March 2019, the BLM finalized amendments to the Greater Sage-Grouse Resource Management Plan reducing protection of sage grouse habitat in the West. The recent actions are in litigation.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can change the position of the government in the litigation and begin the process to restore the original intent of the plan.

#43: RENEWED LEASES FOR A COPPER AND NICKEL MINING OPERATION ON THE BORDER OF MINNESOTA’S BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESSBACKGROUNDTwin Metals Minnesota, a subsidiary of Chilean mining company Antofagasta PLC, is seeking permits to open a large copper mine in the Boundary Waters area of Minnesota. The original mineral leases were sold in 1966, predating NEPA. The Obama administration denied the renewal of the leases and started a NEPA review due to the failure to diligently produce the lease and the need for an updated assessment of the impacts of leasing on the Boundary Waters region. In September of 2018, the USDA canceled the study. In addition, the DOI reinstated the mineral rights leases for the copper-nickel mine, reversing the former Solicitor’s analysis on the issue. Most recently, the Trump administration granted prospecting permits in the region during the pandemic with no opportunity for public input. These actions are the subject of litigation.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can assess the status of the litigation and consider its policy options with regard to the recent lease renewal and issuance of prospecting permits. They can also restart the process for considering a long-term mineral withdrawal in the Boundary Waters area and seek a permanent withdrawal from Congress.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYDepartment of the Interior and Department of Agriculture

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#46: WEAKENED OFFSHORE DRILLING SAFETY REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTED FOLLOWING THE 2010 DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION AND OIL SPILL BACKGROUNDFollowing the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, the DOI underwent a significant reorganization and issued rules and guidance to fill regulatory gaps in emergency response and operational oversight for offshore drilling. These included enhanced requirements for blowout prevention systems, worker safety, clean-up, and inspections. New regulations promoted by the Trump administration weaken these requirements, posing heightened risk from deep water drilling activities that can harm marine and coastal environments and local economies. In September of 2018 the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) issued a final rule that weakens Gulf oil spill, safety, and clean-up.


#47: PROPOSED WEAKENING RULES ON OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION BY FLOATING VESSELS IN THE ARCTIC BACKGROUNDIn July 2016, the Obama administration issued new Arctic-specific regulations focused on Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) exploratory drilling operations from floating vessels within the U.S. Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. These rules required oil companies to ensure proper internal controls and planning for oil spill prevention, containment and responses – all issues identified by previous DOI reports regarding Royal Dutch Shell 2012 exploration activities in the Arctic. The regulations codified and further developed current Arctic-specific operational standards to ensure that operators take the necessary steps to plan through all phases of OCS exploration in the Arctic, including mobilization, maritime transport, emergency response, and the conduct of safe drilling operations. In the fall of 2019, the BSEE issued a notice that it would be revising the Obama-era rule which will weaken the standards of environmental protection and safety. This new rule is expected to be finalized sometime in 2020.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONIf the rule is not final, the Biden administration can direct the DOI to maintain the existing rule to protect Arctic waters. If final, the Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act.

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#50: REDUCE CONSERVATION PROTECTIONS AND OPEN MORE LANDS TO DRILLING AND MINING IN WESTERN ALASKABACKGROUNDAreas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) are BLM designations that highlight areas where special management attention is needed to protect important historical, cultural, and scenic values, fish and wildlife, or other natural resources. They are designated during the BLM Land Management Planning process. The Bering Sea-Western Interior (BSWI) Planning Area is located in western Alaska and encompasses approximately 62 million acres of land, including 13 million acres managed by the BLM. The planning area extends south from the Central Yukon watershed through the Kuskokwim River watershed, including all lands west of Denali National Park and Preserve to the Bering Sea. This 13 million-acre planning zone contains areas vital to Alaska Natives who depend on the fish and wildlife that the habitat supports. In March of 2019, the BLM released the draft BSWI Draft Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement. BLM’s preferred alternative in the plan would eliminate 1.8 million acres of ACECs and propose no new ACECs despite the request by Alaska Native communities to preserve 7 million acres of traditional use areas. The plan is not finalized.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can restart the planning process and prioritize consideration of new or expanded Areas of Critical Environmental Concern and Alaska Native traditional use.

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TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

#10: WITHDREW AND LOOSENED DIRECTIVES AND GUIDANCE TO FEDERAL AGENCIES MEANT TO REDUCE CARBON DIOXIDE AND OTHER GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BACKGROUNDOn March 19th, 2015 President Obama issued an EO requiring all federal departments and agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% within ten years. It also directed agencies to use the “social cost of carbon”, which is an estimate of the long-term economic benefits of reducing carbon emissions. The social cost of carbon at the end of the Obama presidency was set at roughly $40 for each ton of carbon dioxide. At that price, the benefits of Obama’s proposals to reduce emissions outweighed the economic costs. The Trump administration ordered a new calculation and ordered agencies to use procedures that devalued carbon. The Trump administration also withdrew NEPA guidance directing federal agencies to include greenhouse gas emissions in environmental reviews.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can repeal and replace this EO with a new one that restores the responsibility of the federal agencies to consider their contributions to greenhouse emissions and update the analysis for the social cost of carbon.

#36: RESTRICTED MOST ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS TO A MAXIMUM OF 150 PAGES AND MUST BE COMPLETED IN 12 MONTHS BACKGROUNDThe National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1970 promotes the protection of the environment and requires an analysis of and public input for any federal decision or undertaking that may significantly affect the environment. The product of NEPA for public input is the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and has been the bedrock of federal decision making for highways, airports, railroads, seaports, and other projects for 50 years. The Trump administration’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in January of 2020 issued a proposed rulemaking affecting all NEPA compliance. The proposed rule significantly reduces public involvement, and narrows the scope of alternatives and impact review as well as limits the time for completion of EISs to 12 months, even for major projects. In practice these rules would produce documents inadequate to the thoughtful decision-making they are designed to facilitate in addition to limiting the public engagement that makes for better and better supported projects. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on July 15, 2020 and became effective on September 4, 2020.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden Administration can announce in the Federal Register a new rulemaking.

COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

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TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

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ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS

TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS

#39: APPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF THE DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE LESS THAN A MILE FROM THE STANDING ROCK SIOUX RESERVATIONBACKGROUNDThe Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) or Bakken pipeline is a 1,172-mile-long underground oil pipeline that runs from northwest North Dakota and continues through South Dakota and Iowa to an oil terminal near Patoka, Illinois. The Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) is responsible for evaluating and issuing permits for all water crossings under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and Sections 10 and 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. ACE permits are required for 202 crossings of the pipeline of jurisdictional waters. One such crossing was located at the Missouri River a half mile north of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation on aboriginal land of the Sioux Nation. Historic levels of protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline occurred on the project site north of the reservation because of concerns about the pipeline’s impact on the environment, including harm to downstream tribal water rights and treaty rights, and to sites sacred to Native Americans. Based on the concerns raised by affected tribes, the Obama administration in the fall of 2016 paused the project calling for more in-depth environmental review. In February 2017, the Trump administration announced it had adequate information to issue the permit. This past year, a federal judge ruled that the DAPL must be emptied while the ACE produces a more comprehensive environmental review through issuance of an EIS under NEPA instead of an environmental assessment. The issue remains in litigation and currently the pipeline can operate but the permit to expand is being challenged on appeal (United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Case No. 1-16-cv-01534-JEB).

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can comply with the district court’s order and seek to abandon the appeal and conduct an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under NEPA as ordered by the court. The administration can also explore other avenues for resolving this significant, environmental justice case regarding indigenous rights and climate change.

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TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS

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TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

#35: WITHDREW A POLICY OF CLIMATE ADAPTATION FOR THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE UNDER DIRECTOR’S ORDER 100 BACKGROUNDIn response to the recommendations of the National Park System Advisory Board’s 2012 report Revisiting Leopold, the NPS developed a new policy document, Director’s Order 100 that gave guidance to the NPS for addressing climate change, incorporating traditional ecological knowledge, and redefining resource management goals. The Director’s Order was developed over a period of years with internal and public input. Secretary of the Interior Zinke directed the acting Director of the National Park Service to rescind the Director’s Order 100 in August of 2017.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can direct the Secretary of the Interior and the NPS Director to reinstate Director’s Order 100.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

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TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

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STATE DEPARTMENT

TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - STATE DEPARTMENT

#12: STOPPED PAYMENTS TO THE GREEN CLIMATE FUND, THE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAM TO HELP POORER COUNTRIES REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS BACKGROUNDThe Green Climate Fund is a global platform to respond to climate change by investing in low-emission and climate-resilient development. The Green Climate Fund was established by 194 governments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries and to help vulnerable societies adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change. The US along with many other nations pledged to provide a total of $100 billion by 2020 to the Fund to assist poorer countries in achieving low carbon economies. In 2014, the Obama administration pledged $3 billion to the fund – the biggest pledge to date. $1 billion has been delivered but President Trump stopped the planned additional contribution of $2 billion.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can live up to its international commitment to assist other nations fight climate change and send the full pledge amount to the Fund.

#25: APPROVED THE KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE RIGHT OF WAY PERMIT BACKGROUNDThe Keystone Pipeline System is a transboundary pipeline that traverses lands in both Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy Corporation and the Government of Alberta. It runs from Alberta, Canada to refineries in Illinois and Texas and to oil tank farms and an oil pipeline distribution center in Oklahoma. On November 3, 2015 Secretary of State John Kerry issued a determination that the project was not in the public interest and the Keystone XL Pipeline was rejected by President Obama’s administration. On January 24, 2017 President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum to permit the Keystone pipeline. Since then, a federal judge blocked the project from going forward without an adequate environmental review process. President Trump later attempted to sidestep the ruling by issuing a presidential permit. Initial construction has started, but the project remains in litigation. A portion of the pipeline is proposed to cross federal land under the authority of the BLM. In order to construct the pipeline across BLM lands, the developer must have a “Right of Way” permit. The Obama administration denied the permit, based on the recommendations from the DOI and the EPA. The Trump administration issued the Right of Way permit in January of 2020.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration could rescind the Right of Way permit if construction has not begun and make a determination the project is not in the public interest. The Biden Administration can also reconsider the role of the State Department in determinations of transboundary pipelines.

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TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - STATE DEPARTMENT

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TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

#21: OVERTURNED GUIDANCE THAT ENDED US GOVERNMENT FINANCING FOR NEW OVERSEAS COAL PLANTS EXCEPT IN RARE CIRCUMSTANCES BACKGROUNDThe Trump administration published new Department of the Treasury “Guidance for U.S. Positions on Multilateral Development Banks (MDB) Engaging on Energy Projects and Policies” which instructs U.S. representatives on the executive boards of MDBs to vote to “help countries access and use fossil fuels more cleanly and efficiently.” Experts say that this means voting “yes” to most future coal projects that come up for approval. These would previously have been turned down under guidance provided by President Obama in 2013, which made it difficult to use public resources to support coal projects except in rare circumstances. This is a policy document issued by the State Department.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can issue a new policy that encourages use of renewable energy rather than coal.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYDepartment of the Treasury and State Department

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TOP 50 ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS BY AGENCY - DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

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PAGE TITLE

Additional Environmental Harms in Priority Order 51 to 100

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ADDITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL HARMS IN PRIORITY ORDER 51 TO 100

#51: ELIMINATED A PROPOSED RULE THAT REQUIRED MINES TO PROVE THEY COULD PAY TO CLEAN UP FUTURE POLLUTION BACKGROUNDThe Obama administration published a proposed rule on January 17, 2017 to require mining companies to prove they had the financial capability of cleaning up a site after mining. This rule was meant to aid cash-strapped “Superfund” cleanups of areas contaminated by hazardous waste and was aimed at an industry with a long history of polluting streams and groundwater and leaving taxpayers to pay for the cleanup. The Trump administration’s EPA did not finalize the rule, claiming modern mining practices as well as other state and federal requirements made the financial responsibility rule superfluous -- transferring the cost of clean-ups back to federal and state agencies. Environmental groups sued and an appeals court in July of 2019 upheld the Trump administration decision not to reinstate the Obama administration rule.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can restart the rule making process with an announcement in the Federal Register.


#52: OPENED THE NORTHEAST CANYONS AND SEAMOUNTS NATIONAL MONUMENT TO COMMERCIAL FISHING BACKGROUNDThe designation of national monuments is an executive power of the President established under the Antiquities Act of 1906. It has been used by almost all Presidents since to establish unique, federally owned areas for the protection of their natural, cultural, and scientific resources. President Obama used this authority to designate by proclamation the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument in September,2016. The Monument is 4,913 square miles, including four underwater mountains and three deep-sea canyons and is home to rare and endangered whales and other marine species. The designation closed the area to commercial fishing but allows recreational fishing. On June 5, 2020, President Trump signed a proclamation lifting restrictions on commercial fishing within the Monument.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can reinstate the moratorium on commercial fishing within the Monument with a new proclamation.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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#53: REMOVED BLANKET RULE UNDER THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT THAT AUTOMATICALLY CONVEYS THE SAME PROTECTIONS FOR THREATENED SPECIES AS FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES AND TO REDUCE CRITICAL HABITATBACKGROUNDUnder section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act species identified as “threatened” received the protections automatically, and then review is required to keep or remove specific protections. This practice has been in place for decades and is intended to prevent species from becoming more at risk and designated as endangered. Under the new rule established by the Trump administration, the protections will only be applied to a “threatened” species after the review. In addition, the new rule weakened enforcement and protections by considering the economic benefits of excluding certain habitat from protection. The USFWS published the final rule in September of 2019.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process.


#54: REPEALED THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT PLANNING RULEBACKGROUNDIn December of 2016 the BLM amended its regulations that establish the procedures used to prepare, revise, or amend land use plans pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. The final rule affirmed the important role of other Federal agencies, State and local governments, Indian tribes, and the public during the planning process and enhances opportunities for public involvement and transparency during the preparation of resource management plans. The final rule enabled the BLM to more readily address resource issues at a variety of scales, such as wildfire, wildlife habitat, appropriate development or the demand for renewable and non-renewable energy sources, and to respond more effectively to change. The final rule also emphasized the role of using high quality information including the best available scientific information in the planning process, and the importance of evaluating resource, environmental, ecological, social, and economic conditions at the onset of planning. In March of 2017, Congress repealed the regulation under the Congressional Review Act.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process. Congressional authorization for a new rule may be required as the Congressional Review Act prohibits an agency from issuing a “substantially similar” rule without subsequent statutory authorization.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYBureau of Land Management

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#55: ELIMINATED THE REQUIREMENT THAT OIL AND GAS COMPANIES REPORT METHANE EMISSIONSBACKGROUNDIn June of 2016 the EPA issued the “Information Collection Request”(ICR) for the oil and gas industry. The ICR was a mandatory reporting requirement on the release of methane from existing sources. This requirement previously had only applied to new wells. This was an attempt to understand the release of methane and to issue new regulations to control this greenhouse gas. The ICR was withdrawn in March of 2017 by the Trump administration and a new rule was published in March of 2020 that significantly rolls back EPA’s effort to control the release of methane.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act.


#56: REVISED AND PARTIALLY REPEALED A RULE LIMITING METHANE EMISSIONS ON FEDERAL AND TRIBAL LANDBACKGROUNDThe Obama administration BLM finalized a rule published in November of 2016 (the 2016 Waste Prevention Rule, also known as the Venting and Flaring Rule), that required oil and gas companies operating on federal or tribal lands to capture leaked methane, repair outdated leak-detection equipment, and develop new plans to reduce waste. The Trump administration finalized a repeal and replacement rule in September of 2018 that significantly lowered the standards for waste reduction. These matters have been the subject of litigation.



#57: LIMITED FUNDING OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THROUGH CORPORATE SETTLEMENTS OF FEDERAL LAWSUITSBACKGROUNDThe use of third parties such as the National Park Foundation or the Fish and Wildlife Foundation to receive and administer settlement payments has been an effective way for the funding to be directed to implement important mitigation and environmental cleanup projects. Trump administration Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo directing the Justice Department to no longer include funding for projects managed by outside groups in settlements with corporate wrongdoers. If the funding goes into the Treasury, Congress must then appropriate specific funds for mitigation and environmental clean-up.

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RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration attorney general can rescind the memo and restore the practice of working with third parties to do environmental restoration.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYDepartment of Justice

#58: PROPOSED PLANS TO SPEED UP AND WEAKEN ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS AND LAND MANAGEMENT PLANNING PROCESSES, INCLUDING THE ADDITION OF NEW EXEMPTIONSBACKGROUNDThe proposed weakening of environmental reviews and new exemptions were initiated as interior Secretarial Order 3355:“Streamlining National Environmental Policy Act Reviews” and implementation of Executive Order 13807: “Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure Projects”. These streamlining efforts culminated in a significant revision to the NEPA regulations that removed consideration of cumulative impacts from projects, limited the scope of review, imposed administrative exhaustion requirements, and expanded the use of categorical exclusions, among other things. In light of these efforts, the BLM has issued additional Federal Register Notices on new categorical exclusions from NEPA compliance. The Department of the Interior is developing regulations and proposed revisions to streamline the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, including the establishment of universal categorical exclusions, in light of the newly-revised NEPA regulations. The new NEPA regulations are the subject of challenge in litigation.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can withdraw the Secretarial Order and begin the process of removing the new categorical exclusions.


#59: WEAKENED THE PETROLEUM REFINERY SECTOR REGULATIONS THAT GOVERN HOW REFINERIES MONITOR POLLUTION IN SURROUNDING COMMUNITIESBACKGROUNDIn 2015, the EPA updated the Petroleum Refinery Sector Rule, which strengthened requirements for refineries under the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants and New Sources Performance Standards. The rule was projected to reduce emissions of toxic air pollutants by 5,200 tons per year and emissions of volatile organic compounds by 50,000 tons per year. The Trump administration EPA issued a new proposed rule in November of 2018 that weakened the standards for emissions release and reporting that can impact local communities’ health. The final rule was published in February of 2020.

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RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act.


#60: ELIMINATED THE USE OF A PLANNING SYSTEM DESIGNED TO MINIMIZE HARM FROM OIL AND GAS ACTIVITY ON SENSITIVE LANDSCAPES SUCH AS NATIONAL PARKS BACKGROUNDMaster Leasing Plans (MLPs) are a planning approach introduced by the Obama administration to manage oil and gas activity on sensitive landscapes such as those near national parks and avoid harmful impacts to sensitive resources. The MLPs were used to identify and resolve conflicts with resource values such as watersheds and wildlife habitats through scientific assessment and stakeholder engagement. In January of 2018, by Instruction Memorandum (IM) No. 2018-034, discontinued the use of Master Leasing Plans by concluding they created duplicative layers of NEPA review. With regard to other leasing matters in this IM, BLM was barred from implementing this IM in sage grouse litigation. The litigation is ongoing.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can reinstate the use of Master Leasing Plans.


#61: WEAKENED THE REQUIREMENT THAT COMPANIES MONITOR AND REPAIR METHANE LEAKS FROM WELLS, PIPES, AND STORAGE FACILITIES BACKGROUNDMethane is often vented or flared during oil and gas extraction and production and can leak from production equipment. The Obama administration DOI and its BLM published the “Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation” Rule (Waste Prevention Rule) in 2016 to “reduce the waste of natural gas from flaring, venting, and leaks from oil and gas production operations on public and Indian lands.” The rule addressed venting and flaring of associated gas from oil wells by limiting venting to cases of emergencies or when flaring is technically infeasible and required operators to capture a percentage of the gas they would otherwise flare for sale or use. It also required operators to regularly inspect well sites and compression stations for leaks, using an instrument-based approach, and to quickly address leaks found. The Trump administration’s BLM released its final Revision of the Waste Prevention Rule in September 2018. The final rule was published in March of 2020 which was quickly challenged by states and environmental groups.

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RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process for the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYEnvironmental Protection Agency and Department of the Interior

#62: LIMITED THE ABILITY OF INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES TO CHALLENGE EPA-ISSUED POLLUTION PERMITS BACKGROUNDThe Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) was created in 1992 to hear administrative appeals of enforcement proceedings and EPA-issued permits. In December of 2019, the Trump administration EPA issued a rule making: “Modernizing the Administrative Exhaustion Requirement for Permitting Decisions and Streamlining Procedures for Permit Appeals.” This new rule creates a new, time-limited alternative dispute resolution process as a precondition to judicial review. Under this proposal, the parties in the Administrative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process may agree by unanimous consent to either extend the ADR process or proceed with an appeal before the EAB. If the parties don’t agree to proceed with either the ADR process or an EAB appeal, the permit would become final and could not be challenged in federal court. EPA also proposes to amend the current appeal process to redefine the scope and standard of EAB review, remove a provision authorizing participation in appeals by amicus curiae, and eliminate the EAB’s authority to review regional permit decisions on its own initiative even absent an appeal. These changes will limit public participation and stifle environmental justice concerns.



#63: WEAKENED ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT ENFORCEMENT REGARDING INCIDENTAL HARMING OR KILLING OF ENDANGERED SPECIES BACKGROUNDThe Trump administration USFWS revised regulations (50 CFR part 17) that implement Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act. This section pertains to, among other things, permit issuance to protect endangered and threatened wildlife and plants. The revisions clearly make non-federal projects easier to permit, by redefining modifications of endangered species habitat as not automatically triggering a “take” determination. DOI completed the final rule change in August of 2019.

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#64: ALLOWED ELEPHANTS SHOT FOR SPORT IN ZIMBABWE AND ZAMBIA TO BE IMPORTED BACK TO THE US AS TROPHIES BACKGROUNDIn 2014, the Obama USFWS issued a ban on the importation of trophies from the killing of elephants from Zimbabwe and Zambia by US hunters. The impetus was to influence the protection of these species and to intervene in the trade of ivory. There was subsequent litigation to challenge the ban by the Safari Club. In March of 2018 the Trump administration USFWS issued a memorandum that states “In response to the D.C. Circuit Court’s opinion in Safari Club Int’!, et al. v. Zinke, et al., No. 16-5358 (D.C. Cir., Dec. 22, 2017), the Service hereby withdraws, effective immediately, the 2014 and 2015 Endangered Species Act (ESA) enhancement findings for trophies of African elephants taken in Zimbabwe”. This allows the trophies to be imported into the US.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can reissue the moratorium by policy memorandum.


#65: INCREASED LOGGING OF FOREST ON FEDERAL LAND TO “PREVENT FUTURE WILDFIRES” LIKE THE DEADLY BLAZES IN CALIFORNIA IN 2018 BACKGROUNDOn December 21, 2019 President Trump signed Executive Order 18355 that directs the USFS and the DOI to increase timber production on national forests and other federal lands. The DOI and USDA have been instructed to harvest more than 4 billion board feet of timber that will then be put up for sale -- 31% more than what the agencies harvested in 2017.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can rescind this EO, assess policy options to address the risks of wildfire through the lens of climate change, and use its planning authority to implement sound forest management practices, including the value of conservation.


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#66: WEAKENED OVERSIGHT OF STATE AND FEDERAL PLANS TO REDUCE AIR POLLUTION AND REGIONAL HAZE BACKGROUNDIn 1999, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued regulations, known as the Regional Haze Rule, to improve visibility, or visual air quality, in 156 national parks and wilderness areas across the country. These areas include many of our best known and most treasured natural areas, such as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Mount Rainier, Shenandoah, the Great Smoky Mountains, Acadia, and the Everglades. The regulations call for states to establish goals for improving visibility in national parks and wilderness areas and to develop long-term strategies for reducing emissions of air pollutants that cause visibility impairment known as regional haze State Implementation Plans (SIPs). If the states do not, then the EPA will issue Federal Implementation Plans (FIPs) for the state. The Obama administration issued a new Regional Haze Rule in 2016 that drew significant litigation. The Trump administration obtained a stay of that litigation pending its review of the 2016 Rule. While the Trump administration has not issued any new regulations on this topic, it issued a Presidential Memorandum in April of 2018 directing EPA to consider state’s requests to implement SIPs in lieu of FIPs under the Regional Haze Rule. In 2018, EPA released a “Regional Haze Reform Roadmap” that leans towards state regulation of air emissions and reliance on other Clean Air Act programs to implement fulfill obligations regarding regional haze matters. As an example, EPA issued a final rule in September of 2017 in a specific case in Texas that allowed a Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) as an alternative to best available retrofit technology (BART).

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can assess the status of the litigation regarding the Obama-era 2016 regulation, the current non-regulatory measures taken under the Trump administration, and develop a policy objective that fulfills the original objectives of the Regional Haze Rule.


#67: STREAMLINED THE APPROVAL PROCESS FOR DRILLING FOR OIL AND GAS IN NATIONAL FORESTS TO ALLOW PRODUCING TO BEGIN MORE QUICKLY BACKGROUNDIn September of 2018 the Trump administration USFS proposed “updating, clarifying, and streamlining” regulations that could broadly change how the agency handles oil and gas leasing across the 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands. The intent of the changes would be to quicken lease decisions and decrease permitting times and reduce public input. The rule making was announced in 2018 and the proposed rule was published in September of 2020.


RESPONSIBLE AGENCYUS Forest Service and the Department of the Interior

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#68: OFFERED THE LARGEST-EVER 77- MILLION ACRE OIL AND GAS LEASE AUCTION IN THE GULF OF MEXICOBACKGROUNDIn the wake of the 2010 Macondo (Deepwater Horizon) Gulf Oil spill, the Obama administration DOI took a cautious approach to further leasing in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2017, the Trump administration BOEM offered lease sales for oil and gas drilling on 77 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico. This was the largest lease sale in US history. As of 2018, less than1% of the area had been leased and the continued drop in oil prices has left the majority of the lease areas still open.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can withdraw the remaining 99% of the original lease sale area. The administration can also conduct an inventory of existing leases, abandoned wells, and enforcement incidents to update its offshore policy in the Gulf of Mexico in a manner that is consistent with its overall energy policy.


#69: PROPOSED REDUCING DESERT CONSERVATION PROTECTIONS BY REVISING THE CALIFORNIA DESERT RENEWABLE ENERGY CONSERVATION PLAN BACKGROUNDDuring the Obama administration a major planning effort was launched to develop renewable energy in the California desert to select areas that would have the least impact on other resources such as desert tortoise and bighorn sheep, the water table, and adjacent national parks and wilderness areas. The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) took eight years to finalize and the Record of Decision was signed on September 14, 2016 by the BLM. It covers approximately 11 million acres of BLM-managed lands in the southern California desert. In February of 2018 the Trump administration BLM announced it would revisit and amend the DRECP, reducing the conservation area designations. A revised DRECP has not been released.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can halt the amendment process and commit to the existing plan for conservation and renewable energy development.



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#70: WEAKENED THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT RECLASSIFICATION, LISTING DETERMINATION, AND CRITICAL HABITAT DESIGNATION FOR MANY SPECIES BACKGROUNDThe Trump administration proposed a new regulation that redefines critical habitat for endangered species and sets a new limit on identifying “unoccupied” habitat. It states “The Secretary will only consider unoccupied areas to be essential where a critical habitat designation limited to geographical areas occupied would be inadequate to ensure the conservation of the species” and “that the area contains one or more of those physical or biological features essential to the conservation of the species”. This change will significantly reduce the areas designated as critical habitat, especially those areas of a species’ former range that has been altered. The Trump administration DOI proposed the rule change in August of 2020.



#71: ELIMINATED MOST OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE 2017 CHEMICAL DISASTER RULE AIMED AT IMPROVING SAFETY AT SITES THAT USE HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS BACKGROUNDThe Chemical Disaster Rule, made final by the Obama administration in January of 2017, protected both workers and fence-line communities by strengthening emergency preparedness and coordination with local first responders and forcing chemical facilities with the worst accident records, such as petroleum refineries, to consider implementing available safety precautions to save lives and prevent harm. In November of 2019, the Trump administration EPA published a new final rule which eliminated most of the safety protections put in place in January of 2017.




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#72: ALLOW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO ISSUE PERMITS FOR COAL ASH WASTE DISPOSAL IN INDIAN COUNTRY AND SOME STATES WITHOUT REVIEW IF THE DISPOSAL SITE IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL REGULATIONS BACKGROUNDThe Obama administration established a broad coal ash rule in April 2015 which established the first-ever comprehensive set of federal requirements for the disposal of coal ash in landfills and surface impoundments. The Rule established a federal permitting program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for the disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCR). On December 19, 2019, the Trump administration Environmental Protection Agency released a proposed new rule for CCRs that would allow disposal on state and tribal lands without compliance. A final rulemaking is expected by the end of 2020.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can withdraw the rule if it is not final. If it is final the Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act.


#73: WEAKENED BLM ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS FOR WATER POLLUTION AND FRACKING ON FEDERAL AND INDIAN LANDSBACKGROUNDOn March 26, 2015, the BLM published in the Federal Register a final rule: “Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing on Federal and Indian Lands.” Under the rule, companies that drill on public or Native American lands were subject to stricter standards for oil and gas wells, and for ponds and tanks where toxic wastewater that resulted from the fracking process is stored. With the rule, the Obama administration also sought to compel oil and gas firms to report what chemicals they use when they employ fracking. In December of 2017, the Trump administration BLM replaced the existing rule with a final rule weakening regulation of fracking on public lands.




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#74: REVISED THE PROCESS FOR PERMITTING INCIDENTAL HARMING OR KILLING OF EAGLESBACKGROUNDThe Trump administration DOI Solicitor issued a “M” opinion in December of 2017 that changed a 40-year-old interpretation of the MBTA. This was followed by an instructional memorandum to the USFWS in April of 2018 directing the USFWS to not prosecute violations unless the killing of a migratory bird was intentional, including bald eagles. In May of 2020, the USFWS released an EIS that will address the specific changes to the rules governing the take of migratory birds, including bald eagles. The Service issued advance notice of proposed rulemaking in February of 2020 soliciting feedback on a variety of potential approaches to further improve permitting of incidental take of eagles. A federal court has struck down the Solicitor Opinion’s reversal of the long-standing interpretation of the Department. In light of this ruling, a new regulation supporting the new Solicitor’s opinion is not likely in the near term.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration’s Secretary of the Interior can rescind the “M” opinion and issue new direction to the USFWS and rescind the EIS.


#75: WEAKENED A PORTION OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT REGULATIONS TO LIMIT STATES’ POWER TO VETO PIPELINE AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS DUE TO WATER QUALITY CONCERNS BACKGROUNDThe Trump administration EPA issued a proposed rule in August,2019 that weakens a portion of the Clean Water Act to make it easier for the EPA to issue permits for federal projects over state or tribal objections if the projects don’t meet local water quality standards. This rule weakens state authority to implement the Clean Water Act. Projects under this weakened rule included pipelines and other fossil fuel facilities. A final rule was issued in July of 2020. Multiple lawsuits have been filed challenging the rule.




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#76: WEAKENED STANDARDS FOR MERCURY EMISSIONS FROM COAL POWER PLANTS BY CREATING A NEW METHOD OF CALCULATING THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF CURBING MERCURY POLLUTION BACKGROUNDThe Obama administration EPA completed a new regulation in 2012 on the release of mercury, sulfur dioxide, fine particulates, and other pollutants from coal fired power plants. The rule calculated the health co-benefits of these reductions, balancing the cost of the equipment against improvements to public health. In April of 2020, the Trump administration issued its final regulations by removing the appropriate and necessary finding (a precursor to setting Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS) while leaving the MATS standard in place and also permitted four power plants to increase their emissions, overall making it easier to relax pollution controls that are costly to the power plants. Multiple lawsuits have been filed and are pending.



#77: CANCELED EXISTING RULE AND PROPOSED REVISING LIMITS ON THE NUMBER OF ENDANGERED MARINE MAMMALS AND SEA TURTLES THAT CAN BE UNINTENTIONALLY KILLED OR INJURED WITH SWORD-FISHING NETS ON THE WEST COAST BACKGROUNDThe Obama administration proposed a rule to put hard caps on the take of whales (fin, humpback, sperm, short-finned pilot), dolphins (bottlenose), and sea turtles (leatherback, loggerhead, olive ridley, and green) from large gillnets by thresher shark and sword fisherman in in the Pacific fishery. Under the rule, if the “hard cap” on bycatch is reached, the fishery will be closed for up to two seasons using a rolling two-year period. The Trump administration withdrew the proposed rule. A new rule, establishing only observers and no caps was proposed by NOAA in January of 2020.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can withdraw the proposed rule and announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process.



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#78: REPEALED THE STREAM PROTECTION RULEBACKGROUNDThe Stream Protection Rule was published by the DOI in December 2016. This rule was developed “in order to avoid or minimize impacts on surface water, groundwater, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources” from coal mining. In particular, it was designed to prevent mountain-top mining operations – where the top of a mountain is removed with dynamite to reach underground coal seams – from dumping the mountain rubble in nearby valleys and waterways. It was repealed in February 2017 through H.R. 38 pursuant to the Congressional Review Act and never took effect.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process. Congressional authorization for a new rule may be required as the Congressional Review Act prohibits an agency from issuing a “substantially similar” rule without subsequent statutory authorization.


#79: RESCINDED REGULATIONS MEANT TO REDUCE LEAKING AND VENTING OF POWERFUL GREENHOUSE GASES KNOWN AS HYDROFLUOROCARBONS FROM LARGE REFRIGERATION AND AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMSBACKGROUNDThe Obama administration EPA issued a regulation in 2016 that intended to further reduce emissions of refrigerants from air conditioning and industrial refrigeration equipment that used substitute refrigerants such as hydrofluorocarbons. The rule required more stringent leak inspection, repair requirements, recordkeeping, and reporting. The rule had previously applied to only known ozone-depleting pollutants and this change extended it to other refrigerants. In February 2020, the Trump administration EPA Administrator signed the final rule “Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Revisions to the Refrigerant Management Program’s Extension to Substitutes” exempting appliances with 50 or more pounds of substitute refrigerants such as hydrofluorocarbons. This new regulation is under legal challenge, and a D.C. Circuit opinion has opined on issues related to the Obama era regulation.




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#80: APPROVED CHEMICALS OUT OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT AS AMENDED IN 2016BACKGROUNDIn 2016, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was amended to include new health and transparency requirements for the review of potentially toxic chemicals needing approval from EPA, such as asbestos, lead, mercury, and formaldehyde. Since 2016 the EPA has approved more than 1,700 chemicals. According to a lawsuit, the Trump administration’s EPA did not follow the proper public notification protocol for many of these chemicals and has not released health-related information on these chemicals as required under TSCA.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe information required under TSCA for chemicals approved since 2016 can be made publicly available by the Biden administration. In addition, the Biden administration can revisit the approval of these chemicals.


#81: WEAKENED REGULATIONS REGARDING MINING FOR GOLD, COPPER, AND OTHER “LOCATABLE MINERALS” ON PUBLIC LANDSBACKGROUNDThe BLM permits the mining for gold, copper, and other “locatable” minerals on both BLM and USFS lands. In September 2018 the Trump administration USFS published an Advanced Notice of Rulemaking to align its permitting with that of the BLM, both streamlining the process and weakening the standards. In March 2020 the USFS announced intent to produce an EIS for the purposes of rulemaking for mining. The justification is based on Presidential Executive Order 13771 and Executive Order 13817, “A Federal Strategy To Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals”.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can repeal the Executive Orders and halt the EIS Process and assess whether any rulemaking or land management planning needs to occur to align its goals with its energy platform.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYDepartment of the Interior and US Department of Agriculture

#82: WITHDREW A PROPOSED REGULATION REQUIRING GROUNDWATER PROTECTIONS FOR CERTAIN URANIUM MINESBACKGROUNDThe Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued proposed regulations in January 2019 that would weaken the protection of groundwater from existing uranium mines and the disposal of mine tailings. In addition, the Trump administration’s Nuclear Fuel Working Group proposed opening up 1,500 acres outside Grand Canyon National Park to on site uranium ore processing, as well as on land removed from Bear’s Ears National Monument. The NRC opened a comment on proposed rule making in January 2019, but no further rule making has occurred.


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RESTORATIVE ACTIONIf the rule is not finalized the Biden administration can withdraw the proposal for a new rule and resubmit the proposal that was underway in 2016.


#83: ALLOWED COASTAL REPLENISHMENT PROJECTS TO USE SAND FROM PROTECTED ECOSYSTEMSBACKGROUNDIn 1982 Congress established the Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS), which protects 1.4 million acres of land around the country from development. The DOI has long held that the law prohibited using federal money to remove sand from those critical areas to replenish beaches elsewhere. In 2019, the Trump administration USFWS advised federal agencies that the Coastal Barrier Resources Act allows for sand removal from CBRS units to be used to replenish beaches located both within and outside the CBRS so long as the proposed project is consistent with the purposes of the Act and meets the statutory exception for “nonstructural projects for shoreline stabilization that are designed to mimic, enhance, or restore natural stabilization systems.” This was a reversal of policy contrary to the decades-long position of the FWS. The Trump administration changed the policy to make it easier for coastal communities to take sand from protected ecosystems to improve/replenish their beaches. The shift makes it less expensive for some of the wealthiest communities in the country to replenish their beachfronts.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can reestablish the policy that sand from CBRA areas cannot be used to replenish beaches.


#84: WEAKENED THE RULE REQUIRING INDUSTRY REPORTING ON THE RELEASE OF TOXIC PERFLUORINATED “FOREVER” CHEMICALS INTO THE ENVIRONMENTBACKGROUNDThe Trump administration EPA issued a new rule on June 22, 2020 adding perfluorinated (PFAS) chemicals to the list of those that must be reported if released into air, water, or land. The EPA finalized the rule without obtaining public comment. The threshold release for reporting requirements is 100 pounds and the regulation provides an exemption from reporting if no single PFAS chemical in a mixture released exceeded 1% of the total. Environmental groups opposed the rule, stating that EPA should have enacted a drinking water standard for PFAS, not merely adopted a reporting requirement, especially with the large loophole included.


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#85: PERMITTED THE USE OF SEISMIC AIR GUNS FOR GAS AND OIL EXPLORATION IN THE ATLANTIC OCEANBACKGROUNDAirgun blasts are used to locate oil and gas under the ocean floor but they can kill marine life and disrupt fisheries. Under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, in January of 2017, the Obama administration denied all pending permits for the use of seismic air guns in the Atlantic Ocean. It was a decision based on ocean conservation and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. In November of 2018, the Trump administration National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued permits for seismic airgun use in the ocean. This is a policy action and a reversal of existing prohibitions under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The permits are currently being challenged in court.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can drop the legal defense of the NMFS permits and issue new policy from NOAA prohibiting this type of testing.


#86: APPROVED A LAND EXCHANGE AGREEMENT THAT WOULD ALLOW A REMOTE ALASKAN VILLAGE TO CONSTRUCT A ROAD THROUGH THE IZEMBEK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGEBACKGROUNDMultiple attempts have been made to approve the construction of a 17-mile road through the wilderness area of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge connecting the towns of King Cove to Cold Bay, Alaska. A proposed land transfer of 43,000 acres of land owned by the state of Alaska and the King Cove Corporation was ultimately blocked by the DOI in 2013. The Trump administration renewed the land exchange in 2018. The action effectively overrules wilderness protections that have kept the area off limits to vehicles for decades. In June 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska issued an order voiding the land exchange agreement.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration should assess the status of the litigation and the impact of the court’s ruling and determine whether the prior decision in 2013 remains in effect due to the legal deficiencies identified by the court.



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#87: ALLOWED STATES AND THE EPA TO TAKE LONGER TO DEVELOP AND APPROVE PLANS AIMED AT CUTTING METHANE EMISSIONS FROM EXISTING LANDFILLSBACKGROUNDThe Municipal Solid Waste Landfill New Source Performance Standards and Emissions Guidelines require emissions reductions from municipal landfills, targeting the powerful greenhouse gas methane. The Obama administration’s EPA issued the final rule in August 2016 (RIN 2060-AM08). In 2017, the Trump administration delayed the EPA rule that required reduction in methane gas release from landfills. Lawsuits were filed and the court forced EPA to issue new rules. A final rule was issued in September of 2019 that lowered the standards for methane release.



#88: ENDED A BAN ON CERTAIN CONTROVERSIAL SPORT HUNTING PRACTICES IN NATIONAL PRESERVES AND WILDLIFE REFUGES IN ALASKABACKGROUNDIn October 2015 the National Park Service issued regulations prohibiting certain sport hunting practices that many people consider extreme in national preserves in Alaska including hunting of female bears in the den with cubs, baiting bears and wolves, and killing swimming caribou from motorboats. In June 2020, the DOI and the NPS finalized the rule that reversed these prohibitions. Additionally, the USFWS proposed to initiate a similar rulemaking process for changes to Kenai National Wildlife Refuge regulations for the same type of hunting.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process to restore these prohibitions.


#89: PROPOSED AMENDING REGULATIONS REGARDING GRAZING ON PUBLIC LANDS TO ALLOW GRAZING TO REDUCE WILDFIRE RISKBACKGROUNDThe BLM currently manages livestock grazing on 155 million acres of public land and administers nearly 18,000 grazing permits and leases. The Trump administration BLM published a Notice of Intent in the Federal Register in January of 2020 to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to consider proposed revisions to the agency’s grazing regulations. The new regulations would expand grazing for the purposes of reducing fire risk. The BLM initiated public scoping in January of 2020 for amending the grazing regulations. Considering the complexity of grazing practices, this is unlikely to be completed in 2020.


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RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe BLM can rescind the intent to complete an EIS.


#90: REPEALED THE RULE THAT STATE AND REGIONAL AUTHORITIES TRACK TAILPIPE EMISSIONS FROM VEHICLES ON FEDERAL HIGHWAYSBACKGROUNDIn 2016 the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) issued guidance and a rule (the Carbon Emissions Rule) establishing new performance standards for transportation projects receiving federal dollars. This rule required all state and local transportation officials to tally and report their carbon pollution caused by highway expansions and to develop plans to reduce the climate impact of transportation. In May of 2018 the Trump administration Department of Transportation and FHA repealed the Obama rule and completed a final rule in June 2018.


RESPONSIBLE AGENCYFederal Highway Administration

#91: ELIMINATED THE REQUIREMENT THAT GULF OIL RIG OWNERS PROVE THEY CAN COVER THE COSTS OF REMOVING RIGS ONCE THEY STOP PRODUCINGBACKGROUNDOn September 12, 2016, BOEM issued a Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL No. 2016-N01) that provided new guidance for when BOEM would require additional financial assurance for leases, pipeline rights-of-way, and rights-of-use and easements. Additional financial security is often required by BOEM to ensure operators can meet decommissioning costs. This was part of the suite of safety and environmental regulations adopted after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The rule required owners to buy additional bonds or provide other assurance that they could cover the costs of removing rigs once they stopped producing. In September of 2018, the Trump administration BSEE, issued a final rule regarding Gulf Oil spill, safety and clean-up. Its new rule revised or removed 2016 provisions it determined were “unduly burdensome” on the industry. This included removal of the requirement for an independent third-party certification that equipment will function in extreme conditions. There is pending litigation on this issue.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process.



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#92: PROPOSED EXPANDING HUNTING AND FISHING IN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGESBACKGROUNDThe USFWS opened some national wildlife refuges (NWRs) to hunting or fishing by policy directive from the Trump administration’s Secretary of the Interior. In April 2019 the USFWS proposed regulations that would open seven refuges that are closed to hunting by law, eight refuges that are currently closed to hunting and fishing, and open or expand hunting and sport fishing at 89 other NWRs. The Trump administration also proposed to open hunting or sport fishing on nine units of the National Fish Hatchery System as well as 41 limited-interest easement NWRs in North Dakota for upland game and big game hunting.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can reverse the policy decision by the Secretary of the Interior and announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process.


#93: PROPOSED EXPANDING OFF-ROAD VEHICLE ACCESS AND INCREASED MOTORIZED USE IN SOME NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AREASBACKGROUNDThe Trump administration DOI and NPS released a series of special regulations that would expand the use of off road vehicles within some units of the NPS. Because each park unit has its own regulations, there is not one overarching regulation. The regulations expand off-road motorized vehicle access/use within Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Cape Lookout National Seashore, Big Cypress National Preserve, and Fire Island National Seashore; amend regulations for motorized vehicle use within Ozark National Scenic Riverways; amend special regulations for Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore to designate a new snowmobile route (prohibited within areas of the National Park System); and amend special regulations for Gulf Island National Seashore governing the use of personal watercraft.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can issue a notice to issue new regulations for each of these park units, restricting off road vehicle use.

RESPONSIBLE AGENCYNational Park Service


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#94: ALLOW INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY OWNERS TO VETO AREA LISTING ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESBACKGROUNDThe NPS issued a rule making in April 2019 that among other changes would allow a single landowner within a National Register nominated area to block the nomination, thus preventing historic preservation over a neighborhood that supports the designation. This rule would amend regulations related to nominations from Federal agencies of historic properties for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as regulations related to determinations of eligibility for listing historic properties, Public Law 114-289, The National Park Service Centennial Act, title VIII, amended provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq.). The rule is not final.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONIf not yet final, the Biden administration can issue notice to repeal the regulation.


#95: WEAKENED RESTRICTIONS ON PESTICIDE APPLICATION IN AGRICULTURAL BUFFER ZONESBACKGROUNDThe EPA sets application exclusion zone (AEZ) requirements under its Agricultural Worker Protection Standard under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. An AEZ is defined as the area extending horizontally around application equipment. Under EPA’s revision of the standard in 2015, employers are required to keep workers and other persons out of AEZs during pesticide application. These buffer zones are intended to protect farmworkers and bystanders from accidental exposure to pesticides. On November 1, 2019 the Trump administration EPA proposed updates to the Worker Protection Standard regulation that would result in greater pesticide exposure of agricultural workers, bystanders, family members, and adjacent residents The public comment period on the proposed revisions closed on January 30, 2020.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONIf the rule is finalized by the end of the Trump administration, then the Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act. If it is not finalized, it can be reversed by the Biden administration.


#96: LOOSENED FISHING RESTRICTIONS INTENDED TO REDUCE BYCATCH OF ATLANTIC BLUEFIN TUNABACKGROUNDOn April 2, 2020 the Trump administration NMFS published a final rule consistent with its 2019 proposal to loosen fishing restrictions intended to reduce bycatch of Atlantic Bluefin tuna. The rule eliminates the Cape Hatteras Gear Restricted Area and shortens the year-


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long weak hook requirement for the Gulf of Mexico to a seasonal requirement. It also changes two restricted areas (Northeastern United States Closed Area and the Spring Gulf of Mexico Gear Restricted Area to “monitoring areas.” These areas will be under evaluation for three years, meaning that some pelagic longline fishing will be allowed at times when the areas were previously closed.



#97: EASE PERMITTING OF RIGHTS-OF-WAY ACROSS LANDS MANAGED BY THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICEBACKGROUNDThe US Fish and Wildlife Service manages 568 Wildlife Refuges that include over 150 million acres. Current policy of the FWS is to discourage the types of uses embodied in right-of-way requests. In areas in the National Wildlife Refuge System (System), if a right-of-way cannot be certified as compatible with the purposes for which a unit was established, it cannot be granted without authorization by Congress. The Trump Administration has proposed a rule that would streamline and weaken FWS regulations for permitting of rights-of-way (ROWs) for infrastructure by aligning U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) processes more closely with those of other Department of the Interior bureaus. This includes use of a standard application form to expedite the processing and review of requests for ROWs. The rule places a priority on economic opportunity and limits the FWS ability to deny the permit.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONIf finalized the Biden Administration can begin the process to repeal and promulgate a new rule.


#98: AMEND PERMITTING REGULATIONS TO INCREASE OFFSHORE WIND DEVELOPMENT BACKGROUNDThe Trump administration BOEM has identified deregulation actions for reforming, streamlining, and clarifying its renewable energy regulations through a notice of rulemaking. This proposed rulemaking suggests reforms that are intended to facilitate offshore renewable energy development without decreasing environmental safeguards. However, details of this reform have not been made publicly available and have not been published. It is believed they are related to sequencing important environmental surveys with the design schedules. It appears that none of these regulation changes will be completed by the end of 2020.


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RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can reverse the process underway to amend the regulations.


#99: ALLOW RELIGIOUS USE OF EAGLE FEATHERS BY NON-NATIVE AMERICANS BACKGROUNDOn July 26, 2018 the USFWS received a petition for rulemaking from Pastor Robert Soto, the lead plaintiff in McAllen Grace Brethren Church v. Jewell, No. 7:07-cv-060 (S.D. Tex. June 3, 2016) and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, asking the USFWS to revise its existing rules pertaining to the religious use of federally protected bird feathers and parts for Native Americans. The request was for the USFWS to allow the take and use of federal protected bird feathers and parts by non-native American religious groups. In July of 2019 the Trump administration USFWS issued a proposal for the use of eagle feathers by non-native religious groups. No action has been taken on this proposal to date.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONThe Biden administration can deny the petition and halt action on the regulation.


#100: ELIMINATE THE 15-DAY PROTEST PERIOD ON TIMBER SALES FROM BLM PUBLIC LANDS BACKGROUNDIn 1984 the BLM proposed and completed a rule to add a 15-day public-protest process to certain forest management decisions, including advertised timber sales. This measure was expected to “expedite implementation of decisions relating to timber management” and “increase the probability that private businesses dependent upon the Bureau of Land Management’s timber management contracts would be able to accomplish their regularly scheduled activities”. This has been the standard for the public to raise additional concerns or protest of a specific timber sale since 1984. The Trump administration DOI filed a federal register notice in June of 2020 that would eliminate the 15-day protest period on timber sales from BLM public lands and accelerate the timeline for timber sales. The rule is scheduled to be finalized in the fall of 2020.

RESTORATIVE ACTIONIf the rule is made final, the Biden administration can announce in the Federal Register the beginning of a new rule process or request Congress to repeal it under the Congressional Review Act.


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CONCLUSION

CONCLUSIONAt no time since the passage of our strongest environmental laws of the 1970’s has our nation’s air, water, wildlife, parks and public lands been subjected to a comprehensive assault until now. Justified under a rubric of “economic deregulation,” the 100 harms listed above, if continued, will affect the lives, economy and health of every American. Once again, the nation will face polluted streams, oiled beaches, abandoned mines, and soot-filled skies. These assaults will be felt once again in the poorest communities, undoing our necessary progress toward environmental justice. Fortunately, nature has enormous but not infinite powers of recovery, if we restore its legal protection gained over the last 50 years. The restorative actions outlined above will stop the most egregious actions by the Trump administration and restore the environmental policies and programs that have made our nation not only prosperous and our people more healthy, but also a world leader in conservation, science, environmental protection, national parks, and climate change response.

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APPENDICES

APPENDICESAcronyms used in this report:

ACE Army Corps of EngineersACEC Areas of Critical Environmental ConcernADR Administrative Dispute ResolutionAEZ Application Exclusion ZoneANWR Arctic National Wildlife RefugeBART Best Available Retrofit TechnologyBIA Bureau of Indian AffairsBLM Bureau of Land ManagementBOEM Bureau of Ocean Energy ManagementBOSEE Bureau of Safety and Environmental EnforcementBSWI Bering Sea-Western InteriorCAA Clean Air ActCAFE Corporate Average Fuel EconomyCBRS Coastal Barrier Resources SystemCCR Coal Combustion ResidualsCEQ Council on Environmental QualityCFR Code of Federal RegulationsCSAPR Cross-State Air Pollution RuleCWA Clean Water ActDAP Dakota Access PipelineDOI Department of the InteriorDOJ Department of JusticeDOS Department of StateDRECP Desert Renewable Energy Conservation PlanEAB Environmental Appeals BoardEIS Environmental Impact StatementEO Executive OrderEPA Environmental Protection AgencyESA Endangered Species ActFEMA Federal Emergency Management AgencyFERC Federal Energy Regulatory CommissionFHA Federal Highway AdministrationFIP Federal Implementation Plan

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APPENDICES

FLPMA Federal Land Policy and Management ActGHG Greenhouse GasICR Information Collection RequestIM Instruction MemorandumMACT Maximum Achievable Control TechnologyMATS Mercury and Air Toxic StandardsMBTA Migratory Bird Treaty ActMDB Multilateral Development BanksMLP Master Leasing PlanNCER National Center for Environmental ResearchNEPA National Environmental Policy ActNHPA National Historic Preservation ActNMFS National Marine Fisheries ServiceNOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric AssociationNPR-A National Petroleum Reserve in AlaskaNPS National Park ServiceNRC Nuclear Regulatory CommissionNSPS New Source Performance StandardsNSR New Source ReviewNWR National Wildlife RefugeOCS Outer Continental ShelfOSTP Office of Science and Technology PolicyPFAS PerflourinatesRCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery ActRIN Regulation Identifier NumberROW Right of WaySIP State Implementation PlanSO Secretarial OrderTSCA Toxic Substances Control ActUNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural OrganizationUSDA United States Department of AgricultureUSDOC United States Department of CommerceUSDOT United States Department of TransportationUSDOT United Stated Department of the TreasuryUSFS United States Forest ServiceUSFWS United States Fish and Wildlife ServicWOTUS Waters of the United States

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METHODS

METHODSRestoration Project staff began by conducting a search of all publicly available projects that have tracked environmental actions taken by the Trump administration. Nineteen major sources were identified. Each source was carefully evaluated for accuracy, comprehensiveness, how often it was updated, and ease of access. The background, status, restorative action and responsible agency information in this report were adapted, summarized, and updated from a variety of sources including the Federal Register, the US Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, individual federal agency websites, and multiple news outlets or advocacy organizations including the New York Times, the Center for Western Priorities, the Washington Post, the National Geographic Society, and the Environment and Energy Law program at the Harvard Law School. The individual actions within each tracking system were collated into a single list, eliminating duplications and verifying the accuracy of the information. From this list, an inventory of harms was created.

Restoration team members were asked to evaluate each of the harms in the inventory. An online evaluation tool was used, and each team member scored each harm (from 1 to 5) for several variables weighted equally:

• Urgency: the time-critical dimension of responding to an on-going or future harm, i.e. the need for action at a particular time to prevent future harm,

• Impact: the depth of harmful effects upon the environment, people, and economy of the US and the resulting depth of effectiveness in reversing the harm,

• Scope: the extent of cross-cutting harmful effects across multiple sectors, and the resulting breadth of effectiveness in reversing the harm,

• Strategic Benefit: the capacity of the particular action by the new administration to encourage, allow, require or lead to additional positive outcomes, and

• Ease of Action: the simplicity and efficiency of the new administrative process for reversing the harm.

The average total score for each harm was used to rank order the harms. Team members discussed this initial ranking, and also suggested additional harms not included in the original inventory. Team members re-scored the harms (including the additional harms), and the final rankings were used to prepare the lists of harms shown in this report.

For each harm on this list, a review was done to ensure accuracy of the harm at the time the report was completed, the background provided in the report, and the restorative action to reverse the harm. Where possible a Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) and or Case Number (if in litigation) was included.

A draft of the Restoration Project report was reviewed by the team members and several external reviewers. The draft was revised based on these reviews, and the final report was prepared.

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THE RESTORATION PROJECT TEAM & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

THE RESTORATION PROJECT TEAMJonathan Jarvis (co-chair), Pinole, CaliforniaGary Machlis (co-chair), Central, South Carolina

Anne Castle, Denver, Colorado Joel Clement, Wayne, MaineJorge Colón, San Juan, Puerto RicoClarence J. Fluker, Washington, DCDestry Jarvis, Baltimore, MarylandRobert Keiter, Salt Lake City, UtahJim Kurth, Centreville, Virginia Glenn Plumb, Livingston, MontanaDebra Shore, Chicago, IllinoisRenee Stone, Chevy Chase, MarylandTom Tidwell, McCall, Idaho

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe Restoration Project was completed with the volunteer and pro bono efforts of the project team. Project costs were provided by a grant from the Resources Legacy Fund. A debt of gratitude is owed for the diligent research by Madeline Duda and the web-based evaluation tool design and execution by Corbin Kolehmainen. Design of the report was the work of Janet Tauszik. The co-chairs thank several external reviewers for their comments and suggestions for improving the report.

the restoration project · 2020. 11. 13. · 7 how the restoration project did its work the...

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