{"id":5267,"date":"2023-02-28T21:10:10","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T02:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weact.org\/?post_type=resource&#038;p=5267"},"modified":"2025-04-07T21:11:51","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T01:11:51","slug":"environmental-justice-leadership-forum-letter-opposing-builders-act","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/resources\/environmental-justice-leadership-forum-letter-opposing-builders-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmental Justice Leadership Forum Letter Opposing BUILDERS Act"},"template":"","class_list":["post-5267","resource","type-resource","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"details":{"":null,"featured_image":"","resource_type":false,"focus_area":false,"authors":false,"abstract":""},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_hero_links","acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_hero_links":{"title":"","abstract":"","links":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.weact.org\/?attachment_id=11143\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11143\"><img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11143\" src=\"https:\/\/www.weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ejlf-logo.png\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ejlf-logo.png 512w, https:\/\/www.weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ejlf-logo-320x320.png 320w, https:\/\/www.weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ejlf-logo-200x200.png 200w\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\nFebruary 28th, 2023\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Honorable Bruce Westerman\u00a0 <\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The Honorable Raul Grijalva\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chairman<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Ranking Member<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Natural Resources Committee<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Natural Resources Committee<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">United States House of Representatives\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0United States House of Representatives<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Washington, DC 20515\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Washington, DC 20515<\/span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDear Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva:\r\n\r\nWe strongly oppose the Building United States Infrastructure through Limited Delays and Efficient Reviews Act, (\u201cthe BUILDER Act\u201d).\r\n\r\nThe National Environmental Policy Act (\u201cNEPA\u201d) was enacted in 1969 and created a process to ensure that federal agencies consider the environmental impacts of development. Before the passage of NEPA, major projects and construction often led to air and water contamination and the decline of many native wildlife species. The impact on communities has been and continues to be profound, with communities paying the price of poor and, at times, intentionally discriminatory planning that divided communities, created economic hardship, and plummeted health. NEPA was a historical bill stating that the federal government is responsible for \u201c[assuring] for all Americans safe, healthful, productive, and aesthetically and culturally pleasing surroundings.\u201d Unfortunately, this statement still needs to be a reality for many low-income communities and communities of color who disproportionately bear the brunt of industrial pollution and development.\r\n\r\nThe BUILDER Act is an outrageous attempt to weaken NEPA. NEPA has fundamentally served as a way for democratic processes in the permitting process. Below we highlight some of the most egregious provisions with the BUILDER Act, however we recognize that this is a non-exhaustive list of the harmful provisions with the bill. The BUILDER Act would intentionally allow industry to influence and undermine environmental assessments and impact statements. Amending Section 107 to enable project sponsors to prepare their documents is placing significant power in the hands of developers, some of whom have historically sited their facilities in communities of color and communities of low income and traditionally neglected to disclose potential harms of their facilities and products.\r\n\r\nOne critical aspect of NEPA is that it allows our judicial system to hear communities\u2019 concerns and priorities. While this is truly a last resort effort, it is often the only way communities can ensure that harmful developments will not be placed into their communities. Unfortunately, the BUILDER Act would significantly limit communities\u2019 opportunities for judicial intervention by decreasing the deadline to file a claim to 120 days (4 months). Reducing the filing period will create a significant barrier to environmental justice communities, which tend to have lower wealth and often need help accessing financing for lawyers.\r\n\r\nIn addition to decreasing the deadline to file a claim, the BUILDER Act would bar litigation if the complainant did not participate in the public comment period.Communities must be able to participate in the judicial system without participating in a public comment period, which can be limited or exclusionary. Indeed, public comment periods may be poorly publicized, inaccessible, or scheduled during extremely low engagement periods for communities such as during holidays. Community members often learn about a proposed project once the public comment period has passed. Rather than barring action based on public comment participation, equity and environmental justice demands call for longer public comment periods, with increased accessibility and access for communities and public stakeholders. By barring litigation based on public comment periods, the BUILDER Act will stifle oversight, review, and recourse from communities that are most adversely impacted by permitting decisions.\r\n\r\nThe BUILDER Act would allow for the continued degradation of the environment, even when a project is being contested in the courts, by prohibiting injunctive relief. By denying injunctive relief \u2013 harmful projects that deteriorate water quality and impact the surrounding ecosystem could experience long-term impacts with costly remediation. Refusing injunctive relief is particularly concerning in environmental justice communities that may already experience poorer water quality.\r\n\r\nThe BUILDER Act would significantly diminish the integrity of the environmental assessments within NEPA, and undermine communities\u2019 rights to democratic involvement in the health and wellbeing of their communities. In communities overburdened by industrial development, there is an urgent need to consider the cumulative impacts under NEPA and expand opportunities for public comment. Strengthening NEPA in this way is a commonsense approach that would benefit people living in all kinds of communities and should be easy for members across the aisle to support regardless of political party affiliation. Therefore, we strongly support the reintroduction of the Environmental Justice for All Act as a community-led bill that improves NEPA for the betterment of the most vulnerable communities.\r\n\r\nSincerely,\r\n\r\nArbor Hill EJ\r\nCleanAirNow _ Environmental Justice\r\nCoalition of Community Organizations, Houston, TX\r\nEnergy Justice Network\r\nFlint Rising\r\nGreenLatinos\r\nPODER, Austin TX\r\nSouth Bronx Unite\r\nWE ACT for Environmental Justice\r\n\r\n<strong>Allied Organizations<\/strong>\r\n198 methods\r\n350 Bay Area Action\r\n350 New Orleans\r\n350.org\r\n7 Directions of Service\r\nA Community Voice\r\nAlliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments\r\nBlack Millennials 4 Flint (National)\r\nCenter for Biological Diversity (National)\r\nCleanEarth4Kids.org\r\nClimate Reality Project, NOLA Chapter\r\nCoalition Against Death Alley\r\nColor Brighton Green, Brighton, NY\r\nConcerned Citizens of St. John\r\nConcerned Health Professionals of Pennsylvania (Physicians for Social Responsibility)\r\nCreation Collaborative, national\r\nEarth Ethics, Inc.\r\nEarthworks\r\nExtinction Rebellion San Francisco Bay Area\r\nGreater New Orleans Interfaith Climate Coalition\r\nGreece Baptist Church Sustainability Team, Rochester, NY\r\nGullah\/Geechee Sea Island Coalition\r\nHispanic Access Foundation\r\nHispanic Federation (National)\r\nInclusive Louisiana\r\nLeague of Conservation Voters\r\nLos Padres ForestWatch, Santa Barbara, CA\r\nLouisiana League of Conscious Voters\r\nNassau Hiking &amp; Outdoor Club\r\nNuclear Information and Resource Service (\u201cfor a nuclear-free, carbon-free world\u201d), Takoma Park, MD\r\nOccupy Bergen County, New Jersey\r\nOur Revolution Ocean County, NJ\r\nRachel Carson Council, Bethesda, MD\r\nRise Up WV\r\nRiver Valley Organizing\r\nSarah Stewart, Animals Are Sentient Beings, Inc., MA\r\nSocial Eco Education (SEE), Los Angeles, CA\r\nSunnyside Community Redevelopment Organization\r\nThe Wilderness Society\r\nToxic Free NC\r\ntUrn Climate Crisis Awareness &amp; Action, Santa Clara, CA\r\nUnion of Concerned Scientists\r\nUnitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community\r\nZero Hour","include_drop_cap":false}}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - 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