Environmental Challenges

Rolling Back a Landmark Environmental Law

March 11, 2020

Since taking office, the Trump Administration has rolled back or removed a number of federal environmental regulations. This episode of the American Health Podcast is dedicated to proposed changes to the landmark National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires environmental reviews of major infrastructure projects like highways, bridges, pipelines, and dams. Large infrastructure projects directly impact the health of communities across the country – and, as we will discuss in this episode, those most impacted by these projects are often minority communities and those with high rates of poverty.

A number of changes to NEPA have been proposed, but in this episode we’ll talk about just a few of the biggest proposed changes, and how they will impact life in the U.S. going forward if they do become permanent.

This episode is guest-hosted by Megan Weil Latshaw, assistant scientist in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and features guest Tom Buchele, Codirector of the Earthrise Law Center at the Lewis & Clark School of Law in Oregon.

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