NOHVCC has formally submitted comments on the Council on Environmental Quality’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking – Update to the Regulations Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
To read NOHVCC’s comments click here. This proposed rulemaking is intended to “… revise and modernize … NEPA regulations to facilitate more efficient, effective and timely NEPA reviews by Federal agencies.”
As many in the OHV community are aware, NEPA reviews can often be time consuming endeavors which produce reports hundreds of pages in length. The proposed changes are intended to “… advance the original goals of the CEQ regulations to reduce paperwork and delays, and promote better decisions consistent with the national environmental policy …” NOHVCC’s ethic supports only safe and responsible OHV recreation, so HOHVCC understands that environmental reviews are necessary, but improvements in process are needed.
If you haven’t done so already, please take the time to comment.
Comments are due March 10, 2020.
NOHVCC believes that the proposed rulemaking is generally a positive step forward. It understands that it intends to shorten environmental reviews, provide expedited review processes for routine actions (or actions that are unlikely to have a serious environmental impact), and has a goal of increasing and simplifying public involvement. These are all goals that NOHVCC shares.
The proposed rulemaking and information on how to comment can be found here.
Should you choose to submit comments, feel free to use NOHVCC’s comments as reference, and/or include some of the important bullet points from NOHVCC’s submission:
- Support provisions to cap Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) processes to two years and cap document length to 300 pages.
- Support provisions to cap Environmental Assessment (EA) processes to 1 year and cap document length to 75 pages.
- Support provisions to provide better direction on when and how to use CEs and to encourage agencies to us CEs whenever appropriate.
If you have any questions, or need more information, reach out to NOHVCC staff at trailhead@nohvcc.org.
