Western Environmental Law Center

@westernlaw

We use the power of the law to foster thriving, resilient Western lands, waters, wildlife, and communities in the face of a changing climate.

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Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Jun 9

🚨ACTION ALERT🚨: Senate Natural Resources will vote TOMORROW on an amendment to S.140, the Wildfire Prevention Act, that would erase the Roadless Rule. More roads = more wildfire risk. Call the Capitol Switchboard and tell your senators to vote no or oppose:(202) 224-3121. #SaveRoadless

Lost Lake Roadless Area, Mt. Hood National Forest. Photo by USFS.

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Apr 23

THE ANSWER IS DATA CENTERS TO MAKE AI WRONG ANSWER ROBOTS

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Apr 22

Happy #EarthDay, ya filthy animals.

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Apr 16

Read our letter here, and an enormous THANK YOU to the 72 other groups that joined us in this message. To the Senate: Hold strong against bargaining away our environmental and community protections. Anything else would be unforgivable. westernlaw.org/wp-content/u...

Read the full letter at westernlaw.org/news. Huge thanks to our partners in this work: AMIGOS BRAVOS • BADLANDS CONSERVATION ALLIANCE • BIRD ALLIANCE OF OR • CASCADIA WILDLANDS • CBD • CHC CLIMATE JUSTICE ALLIANCE • COALITION FOR CLEAN AFFORDABLE ENERGY • COLUMBIA RIVERKEEPER • COOK INLETKEEPER • DEVIL’S SPRING RANCH • DINÉ CARE • DOUGLAS COUNTY GLOBAL WARMING COALITION • EARTHWORKS • EPIC • FAMILIES FOR A LIVABLE CLIMATE • FRIENDS OF THE EARTH • FRIENDS OF THE INYO • FRIENDS OF THE SHASTA RIVER • FRIENDS OF THE WILD SWAN • GALLATIN WILDLIFE ASSOCIATION • GILA RESOURCES INFORMATION PROJECT • GREAT BASIN WATER NETWORK • GREEN LATINOS • GREEN LATINOS NM • HEALTHY CLIMATE NM • HIGH COUNTRY CONSERVATION ADVOCATES • KS WILD• LOS PADRES FORESTWATCH • MT ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION CENTER • MT HEALTH PROFESSIONALS FOR A HEALTHY CLIMATE • MOUNT SHASTA BIOREGIONAL ECOLOGY CENTER • NAEVA • NEW MEXICO ACEQUIA ASSOCIATION • NEW MEXICO INTERFAITH POWER AND LIGHT • NEW MEXICO VOICES FOR CHILDREN • NEW MEXICO WILD • NM CAFe – COMMUNITIES EN ACCIÓN Y DE FE • NM NATIVE VOTE • NORTH CASCADES CONSERVATION COUNCIL • NORTHEAST OREGON ECOSYSTEMS • NORTHWEST ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES • NUESTRA TIERRA CONSERVATION PROJECT • OLYMPIC PARK ADVOCATES • ORANGE COUNTY COASTKEEPER • OREGON WILD • PARK COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL • PARTNERSHIP FOR EARTH SPIRTUALITY • PEOPLE AND POLLINATORS ACTION NETWORK • ROGUE RIVERKEEPER • SAN JUAN CITIZENS ALLIANCE • SAN LUIS VALLEY ECOSYSTEM COUNCIL • SIERRA CLUB – MONTANA CHAPTER • SODA MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS COUNCIL • Southeast Alaska Conservation Council • SPOKANE RIVERKEEPER • THE GLOBAL WARMING EXPRESS • CAREs • TUALATIN RIVERKEEPERS • UMPQUA NATURAL LEADERSHIP SCIENCE HUB • UMPQUA VALLEY AUDUBON SOCIETY • UMPQUA WATERSHEDS • WATER POLICY PATHWAYS • WELC • WORC • WESTERN SLOPE CONSERVATION CENTER • WWP • WHITE MOUNTAIN CONSERVATION LEAGUE • WILD CONNECTIONS ¨ WILDEARTH GUARDIANS • WILDERNESS WORKSHOP • WILLAMETTE RIVERKEEPER • Wyoming Wilderness Association

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Apr 16

"It is glaringly obvious that any changes to our bedrock environmental laws signed by President Trump would sacrifice far too much and compromise the imperative to foster a just and equitable transition to an economy powered by renewable energy." -@riogranderift.bsky.social

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Apr 16

Proposed NEPA changes like those in the SPEED Act would reduce enviro review to a paperwork exercise & limit judicial accountability to the point of meaninglessness. They would neutralize enviro & community protections to accelerate approvals for energy/technologyinfrastructure—mostly fossil fuels.

These changes would reduce environmental review to a paperwork exercise and limit judicial accountability to the point of meaninglessness.

Proponents of permitting reform have also signaled strong interest in changing other bedrock environmental laws, including the clean water act, endangered species act, and national historical preservation act. These proposals effectively neutralize environmental and community protections to accelerate permit approvals for energy, technology, and other infrastructure--primarily climate-harming fossil fuels.

We urge you to reject permitting reform for what it is: a reactive capitulation to energy and technology industry demands and the trump administration's deliberately engineered regulatory chaos. There is simply no precedent for what this administration has wrought, and permitting reform proposals under consideration--which scapegoat environmental laws--will only deepen the harm.

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Apr 16

These members of Congress think they can squeeze a modicum of renewable energy and/or transmission permitting expedience out of Trump and the Rs. This is folly. Believe the evidence of your eyes and ears. They will destroy everything while slapping each other on the back.

The Trump administration and its enablers in Congress have demonstrated their hostility to environmental safeguards as well as indifference or ignorance of the public health and ecological effects of these changes by fundamentally eroding, incapacitating, planning to repeal, removing protections for, or fundamentally undermining as agencies the:

Endangered Species Act
Roadless Rule
Endangerment finding on climate emissions
Clean Water Act
Clean Air Act
Methane Rule
Public Lands Rule
Chaco Culture National Historical Park protection zone
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness protections
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A)
Powder River Basin coal leasing withdrawal
U.S. Forest Service
Environmental Protection Agency

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Apr 16

"Permit reform" in today's extreme right-wing Congress would mean gutting the National Environmental Policy Act and other bedrock enviro laws, which is unacceptable as the Trump admin attacks every environmental protection, special place (Boundary Waters!), & agency that does some good for nature.

JOINT LETTER
How does "permit reform" legislation target NEPA?
NEPA requires agencies to:
(1) take a hard look at impacts to people, communities, and the environment and disclose those impacts to the public; (2) consider alternatives to avoid and mitigate harm; and (3) provide for public involvement. Sounds like a pretty good idea, right? (Yes, it is).
But back in December, thanks to permit reform backers, the SPEED Act (H.R.4776) aimed to permanently dismantle those protections. It passed in the House then, and it's now pending in the Senate.

JOINT LETTER
If it passes, what would the SPEED Act or equivalent permit reform legislation do?
• Arbitrarily narrow the scope of environmental reviews, paving the way for unchecked resource extraction without proper consideration of environmental and community impacts;
• Permit agencies to ignore new scientific or technical research when preparing an environmental review and thereby risk decisions that harm the public interest, and
• Eviscerate the public's right to seek justice and accountability in federal court.

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Apr 16

This morning, 73 western orgs sent a critical message to @schumer.senate.gov, @heinrich.senate.gov, @whitehouse.senate.gov, and @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social warning them about negotiating with Rs on permit reform. PR: westernlaw.org/73-western-g...

73 western groups to Senate leadership: No to permit reform false solutions

JOINT LETTER
Today, 73 western community, conservation, faith, and Indigenous groups representing 2.6 million members and supporters joined WELC in delivering a message to Senate Minority Leader Schumer (NY), Sen. Heinrich (NM), Sen.
Whitehouse (RI), and House Minority Leader Jeffries (NY).
The joint letter demands they reconsider their pursuit of
"permitting reform" that gives massive liberties to energy and technology industries by targeting the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) and other bedrock environmental laws in the 119th Congress.

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Apr 13

File under "permit reform" and #Abundance, too. Just absolute hubris. Captain Planet villain shit. Paging Dr. Blight, Hoggish Greedly, and Looten Plunder.

the modern oil and gas industry is actually worse than captain planet villains were in the show

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Feb 9

We retreat annually in Cannon Beach and have seen amazing bioluminescence, thriving tidepool ecosystems, and herds of Roosevelt elk. Five stars.

Roosevelt elk on the shores of Cannon Beach, Oregon, with Haystack Rock in the background.

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Feb 6

Here's our fact sheet on this terrible, dangerous bill that would risk polluting the #NMLeg #NMPol water supply with toxic oil and gas chemicals: tinyurl.com/HB207FactSheet PLEASE help us convey that New Mexicans do not want this.

This bill is another attempt by the oil and gas industry to bypass sound science and protecting public health and the environment...And it will be heard in committee this saturday. It's time to speak up. Here's what we can do -->

$We need to overwhelm this hearing with public comments. NM legislators need to hear 1. We do not want fracking waste in our waterways because it is not safe for people or the environment. 2. The science-based rule the NM WQCC passed is sound, and 3. It is wrong for politicians to override the independent body tasked with keeping our water safe. Public hearing details -->$

$Attend the public hearing on HB207 this saturday in person or virtually and tell legislators not to allow the oil and gas industry to dump its fracking waste in our waterways. When: Sat 2/7 9am. Where: Capitol, room 315. Virtual link in action alert linked in previous post. Phone = 253-215-8782, code 89118272717#$

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Feb 6

ACTION ALERT for #NMLeg: SATURDAY at 9am at the Roundhouse and online, please provide public comment on HB207, which would mandate the discharge of "treated" oil and gas waste to #NMPol rivers, streams, and groundwater. All the info to join: myemail.constantcontact.com/ACTION-ALERT...

Water advocacy action alert: HB207 would mandate discharge of "treated" oil and gas waste ("produced water") to our state's rivers, streams, and groundwater. This Saturday, we need to speak up and tell legislators to stop this bill. What's produced water? -->

What is produced water? It's a highly toxic waste by product of oil and gas operations. According to the best science, treatment technologies do not currently exist that allow for the safe discharge of produced water to our waterways. Produced water treatment does not remove all toxins and does not suggest protective standards are in place to shield the public and environment from the harms caused by those toxins. So what is this bill? -->

What does HB 207 do? Mandates that the water quality control commission authorize discharge of treated produced water to nm's rivers, streams, and ground water. Mandates use of treated produced water for irrigation of industrial crops, on rangeland, and for manufacturing and other industrial uses, such as data centers. Mandates use of treated produced water for dust control on roads and for hydrogen production. Mandates that the WQCC allow these various uses and discharges by the end of 2025. That sounds...awful? -->

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Jan 26

3. Accountability. We cannot move forward w/o a reckoning for those who have designed, led, & executed this agenda. This includes fair & transparent criminal & civil investigations into the regime’s transgressions. We must also reject the policy logic that gave rise to a weaponized security state.

Accountability. We cannot move forward absent a reckoning with those who have designed, led, and executed the regime’s agenda. This includes fair and transparent criminal and civil investigations into the regime’s transgressions. We must also reject the policy logic that gave rise to the security state ostensibly intended to shield the United States from foreign terrorism but that this regime has now weaponized against the people and communities who have made their home in this country.
.
National imagination. We must fight with an eye to the future—a day when this regime’s transgressions and atrocities have ceased—and we have an opportunity to rethink and revitalize American democracy. The institutions and systems that we once assumed would shield us from the rise of tyranny in the United States have proven fallible. These institutions and systems must therefore be rethought and revitalized and, in some instances such as ICE, dismantled altogether. In the domain of environmental law, we are doing just that with our Emergent Horizons campaign, an effort designed to spark society-wide climate and conservation action fit for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century and beyond.

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Jan 26

The Trump regime threatens our vision of a thriving U.S. West, abundant w/interconnected ecosystems, powered by renewables, and tended by communities united in an ecology of kinship. We urge society-wide action. Each person—based on their ability and capacity—please consider 4 categories of action:

The Trump regime gravely threatens our vision here at WELC of a thriving U.S. West, abundant with interconnected ecosystems, powered by renewables, and tended by communities united in an ecology of kinship. It is this threat -- to people, to country, to the world around us -- that compels us to urge society-wide public action. We therefore urge that each person -- based on their ability and capacity -- consider four categories of action to bring this promise to life:

Resolute, peaceful protest. The regime seeks to inflame chaos as a pretext to oppress people and communities with paramilitary forces. We must peacefully stand with conviction in defiance of these actions, asserting our freedoms of speech and assembly and right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Courage is contagious.
.
Mutual aid and solidarity. Respect your neighbors. Stand with your neighbors. Provide aid to your neighbors. And do so regardless of whether they are a citizen or immigrant because we are all in this together. We say this in full light of the courage we have witnessed in Minnesotans over the past days and weeks. To provide immediate support, we recommend Stand with Minnesota, which provides a vetted directory of organizations and opportunities seeking donations. As demonstrated by Minnesota, building networks of mutual aid and solidarity in your community creates the conditions for collective resilience

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Jan 26

The same day, DHS/ICE asserted the sweeping power to break into homes w/o a judicial warrant, contrary to the U.S. Constitution. On 1/24, ICE agents killed Alex Pretti, who cared deeply for his neighbors, stood against the regime’s oppressive tactics in MN, and shared our love for the natural world.

That same day, the Associated Press reported that the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, asserted the sweeping power to break into homes without a judicial warrant, contrary to the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment and judicial precedent. On January 24th, the logic of this entire strategy further unspooled with the killing of Alex Pretti in the streets of Minneapolis—a human being, we note, who cared deeply for his neighbors, stood against the regime’s oppressive tactics in Minneapolis, and shared our love for the natural world.

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Jan 26

On 1/21, ICE took a 5-year-old asylum seeker for bait to detain his father. Agents sent both far from home to a detention center in TX despite w/o a deportation order (both entered the country legally) in yet another heartbreaking example of people detained or deported with no lawful authority.

It declined to investigate the ICE officer who perpetrated that horrific event, falsely claimed Renée Good was a “domestic terrorist,” threatened to invoke the 1792 Insurrection Act, opened transparently political federal investigations into Minnesota public officials including the governor, attorney general, and Minneapolis mayor, as well as Renée Good’s widow, and intensified its campaign of terror against the people of Minneapolis.

This includes actions such as those on 1/21, when ICE agents took 5-year-old asylum seeker Liam Conejo Ramos after he arrived home from preschool, using him as bait to detain his father. Agents sent both far from home to a detention center in Texas despite lacking a deportation order (both entered the country legally at a U.S. port of entry) in yet another heartbreaking example of community members detained or deported by ICE with zero lawful authority to do so.

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Jan 26

In 2023, Trump said “I am your retribution,” revealing his intent to betray his oath & responsibility to the whole American public. His regime has repeatedly laid siege to our cities with armed paramilitary forces. On 1/7, an ICE agent killed Renée Good, a 37-year mother, wife, poet, & citizen.

In March 2023, Donald Trump ominously proclaimed to his supporters that “I am your retribution,” revealing his intent to betray his oath of office and responsibility to the whole American public. A year into his second term, his regime has repeatedly laid siege to American cities with heavily armed paramilitary forces. On January 7th, as the New Year dawned, the regime’s provocations reached new levels in Minneapolis, where an ICE agent killed Renée Good, a 37-year mother, wife, poet, and American citizen.

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Jan 26

The Declaration of Independence's unequivocal, if aspirational, statement that "all men are created equal" and "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness" is now in peril & our constitutional system at risk of collapse.

The U.S. was forged by waves of immigrants from across the world and the enduring presence of Indigenous peoples. These complex demographics have inspired both conflict and cooperation channeled through a constitutional system grounded in the declaration of Independence's unequivocal, if aspirational, statement that "all men are created equal" and "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This founding declaration is now in peril and the constitutional system that grew from it at risk of collapse. None of this is a surprise.

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Jan 26

We are in the midst of a crisis that demands, above all, that the people rise to defend american freedoms and democracy—that we embrace Nikita Gill's truth that a better world is worth fighting for.

Hope sits in the trenches,
the last one standing,
its teeth cracked,
its knuckles bruised,
its body broken;
but its eyes are still gleaming
with the light of a million lamps.
Its heart is still beating
Because even here,
Even now,
It knows that a better world
Is worth fighting for.
-Nikita Gill

We are in the midst of a crisis that demands, above all, that the people rise to defend american freedoms and democracy -- that we embrace nikita gill's truth that a better world is worth fighting for.

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Dec 15

ACTION ALERT: Our waters are under attack like never before. Please sign this petition to safeguard New Mexico's life-giving waters from Trump's "Polluted Water Rule:" It would strip federal protections from almost all the #CleanWater in #NMPol. secure.everyaction.com/zJ0Cj5GRuEO3...

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Dec 12

🚨ACTION ALERT🚨 Next week: The House will vote on the SPEED Act, big on #Project2025 deregulation. It would: 🙅‍♀️ enviro protex nationwide, 📈 private profit, 📉 public health, 🤐 frontline communities, & 🚫 your legal recourse TELL YOUR REP TO VOTE NO: www.congress.gov/contact-us or 202-224-3121

tell your house representative a vote for the "SPEED Act" is a vote for Project 2025. The SPEED Act would gut enviro protex nationwide, prioritize private profit over public health, silence the voices of frontline communities, and severely limit the public's right to legal recourse

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Dec 4

A vote for the #SPEEDAct is a vote for #Project2025, unhinged deregulation, and more power in the hands of extractive industries. Floor vote = week of 12/15. Call or email your rep @ congress.gov/contact-us or dial (202) 224-3121 for the switchboard operator to request your rep's office.

A vote for the SPEED Act is a vote for Project 2025, unhinged deregulation, and more power in the hands of extractive industries.
And after passing the House Natural Resources committee, it has an alarming chance to continue through the House.
THE SPEED ACT IS GOING TO A VOTE THIS COMING MONDAY ON DECEMBER 8TH, SO WENEED TO SPEAK UP NOW.
Call or email your representative at
congress.gov/contact-us or dial (202) 224-3121
for the U.S. House switchboard operator to request your representative's office.
SAMPLE CALL SCRIPT:
"Hi, I'm [Namel calling from [Town]. I'm calling to ask Representative
to oppose the SPEED Act, H.R.
4776. This bill would devastate opportunities for public participation in project development decisions, undermine scientific progress, contribute to widespread ecological harm, and steal more from Americans' already vulnerable public lands and environmental health safeguards."

SAMPLE CALL SCRIPT:
"Hi, I'm [Namel calling from [Town]. I'm calling to ask Representative
to oppose the SPEED Act, H.R.
4776. This bill would devastate opportunities for public participation in project development decisions, undermine scientific progress, contribute to widespread ecological harm, and steal more from Americans' already vulnerable public lands and environmental health safeguards."

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Dec 4

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟑: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 #𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 The bill would narrow the window for filing lawsuits from 6 years to 150 days, and prohibit courts from enjoining federal agency decisions that violate the law, regardless of the harm those decisions may cause.

REASON #3:
AVOIDING ACCOUNTABILITY
When communities and advocacy groups identify a project's potential threats, the SPEED act would make it for people to protect their rights and interests. It would do this in many ways, including 1) narrowing the window for filing lawsuits from 6 years to 150 days, and 2) prohibiting courts from enjoining federal agency decisions that violate the law, regardless of the harm that those decisions may cause.
Put simply, rather than strengthen NEPA as a tool to improve permitting, it would do precisely what NEPA's critics argue: Turn NEPA into little more than a paperwork checklist that won't improve decisions but risks grave harm to people, communities, and the places we love.

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Dec 4

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟐: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 #𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬' 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. Agencies wouldn't need to consider new science or info once a developer submits a permit app. It'd also radically scale back the scope of analysis, allowing federal agencies to disregard harms caused by multiple projects.

The SPEED Act allows federal agencies to ignore science and all impacts from a project. In a notably terrible move, the bill tells agencies that they don't need to consider new research or gather the information needed to make a reasonable decision once a developer submits a permit application. It also radically scales back the scope of analysis, allowing federal agencies to disregard the exponential harms caused by multiple projects.

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Dec 4

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟏: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 #𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐀𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐀𝐜𝐭 (𝐍𝐄𝐏𝐀). By condemning NEPA as "purely procedural," the SPEED Act prevents NEPA from improving key infrastructure development decisions, such as building new renewables without compromising ecological and community values.

3 REASONS TO OPPOSE THE SPEED ACT
REASON #1:
DISMANTLING THE
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL
POLICY ACT (NEPA)
NEPA is America's foundational, community-focused environmental law. It provides people with a voice in the decision-making processes that affect their lives and values, serving as a counter to entrenched development interests with insider access to politicians and decisionmakers.
This is particularly critical for communities already harmed by higher pollution rates and accelerated climate risks due to environmental racism or limited access to resources. By condemning NEPA as "purely procedural," the SPEED Act prevents NEPA from improving key infrastructure development decisions, such as building new renewables without compromising ecological and community values.
REASON #2 —

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Dec 4

Do you love #Project2025, unhinged deregulation and more pollution in your neighborhood? No? Masquerading as a solution to faster energy development, the #SPEEDAct would actually accomplish core deregulation goals outlined in Project 2025, including...

Do you love Project 2025, unhinged deregulation, and more pollution in your neighborhood? No?
Okay, then here's
3 REASONS
TO OPPOSE THE SPEED ACT
The Standardizing Permitting and Expediting
Economic Development (or SPEED) Act (H.R. 4776)
is yet another attempt to push the Trump administration's so-called "energy dominance" agenda, which seeks to bulldoze over community concerns in support of fossil fuel and Big Tech's power and wealth. Masquerading as a solution to faster energy development, the SPEED Act would actually accomplish core deregulation goals outlined in Project 2025, including...
REASON #1-

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Dec 2

In less awesome news, we're fighting to defend wildly popular, core environmental laws & policies under attack by the Trump admin: Roadless Rule, Public Lands Rule, Endangered Species Act, & NEPA. We need all the help we can get in these (& more) fights ahead. westernlaw.org/donate/ #GivingTuesday

The Roadless Rule is an extremely popular, science-based provision limiting commercial logging and associated road construction on some of the wildest and most undisturbed public lands in the country. One of the best American ideas of this century, the Roadless Rule protects 58.5 million acres of intact national forest lands. Yet now the Trump administration intends to rescind the Roadless Rule to allow the private logging, mining, and fossil fuel industries to profit at great generational cost to the American people and the natural world. We have vowed to fight for the Roadless Rule—and for the wild places it protects and preserves.

WELC led a coalition of groups that successfully petitioned the BLM to create its 2024 Public Lands Rule. The landmark rule recognizes that conservation in public lands management is equal to extractive uses such as fossil fuel production and mining. This rule improves the balance of the agency’s multiple-use mission across 245 million acres of public lands. The Trump administration plans to eliminate the rule. We will defend the rule, which at last operationalizes the BLM’s longstanding conservation authority and responsibility under the law.

NEPA: The Trump administration and some members of Congress are hellbent on eviscerating the country’s environmental “Magna Carta,” NEPA. New procedures severely limit NEPA’s application and the public’s right to participate in decisions affecting their communities. Worse still, Congress is considering several bills to further limit NEPA, including a blatant effort at wholesale deregulation under a pretense of "permit reform." The SPEED Act would silence communities, limit env reviews, exclude science, and impose excessive barriers to judicial review—all for private profit. This bill has a dangerous level of support because the issue has been misleadingly framed. We are using our expertise to defend NEPA for all people.

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Dec 2

We also won a pivotal youth #climate case at the #MTpol Supreme Court. Big shout-out to our pals at @youthvgov.bsky.social & McGarvey Law, our partners on the case. One expert called this “the strongest decision on climate change ever issued by any court.” westernlaw.org/donate/ #GivingTuesday

MT is one of only a handful of states that recognizes a constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment, including a stable climate. For decades, the state of MT has promoted, incentivized, and deregulated the fossil fuel industry, knowingly worsening climate change. Beginning in 2020, we represented 16 young people in a challenge to the state of Montana’s fossil fuel permitting practices that threaten the state’s atmosphere, forests, rivers, lakes, fish, and wildlife. Elected officials’ climate denial and fealty to the fossil fuel industry have harmed these young people’s way of life and constitutional rights to pursue liberty and happiness through the enjoyment of a clean and healthful environment. We took on this case to hold MT’s government accountable and defend these youths’ constitutional rights. Alongside our partners at Our Children’s Trust and McGarvey Law, in 2023, we brought our clients’ powerful stories and climate science into the courtroom in the first ever U.S. climate trial in history. The youth plaintiffs ranged in age from 2-18 when we first filed the lawsuit. They represent unique landscapes and geographies from across the state of Montana and its Tribal lands. During this landmark trial, the youth plaintiffs bravely testified about how climate change has harmed their health, livelihoods, cultural practices, psychological well-being, and the state they call home. World-renowned climate experts testified that Montana’s promotion of fossil fuels and suppression of renewable energy development have aggravated drought, fueled megafires, and depleted natural resources.
We were ecstatic when the court ruled in the youth plaintiffs’ favor in 2023, recognizing that the right to a clean and healthful environment is meaningless without a livable climate. One expert called this “the strongest decision on climate change ever issued by any court.” Ever defiant, the state appealed our landmark decision to the Montana Supreme Court. Read more online

Western Environmental Law Center@westernlaw· Dec 2

We won a bunch of cases for #CleanWater (& things that live in it) in #WApol, #ORpol, #NMPol, & beyond. In NM, we secured protections from Big Oil & the gov's plan to allow #fracking wastewater discharge to rivers/streams/land—as dangerous as it sounds. westernlaw.org/donate/ #GivingTuesday