The president changed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a cornerstone of environmental law in the US. New rules could become much easier under new rules proposed by President Trump today.

Nepa requires agencies to get public feedback on new projects. It’s been used to oppose contested projects like the Dakota access and Keystone XL pipelines.

The latest environmental rollback could result in the most dramatic consequences yet.’this is a really, really big proposal,’ says interior secretary and former oil and gas lobbyist David Bernhardt.

Many environmental advocates were outraged. They’re concerned that the proposal will make it easier to push forward projects that add to the climate crisis.

Former EPA administrator Gina McCarthy is now the executive director of the advocacy group natural resources Defense Council. She’s now a former EPA official under the Obama administration.

Black Americans are disproportionately exposed to pollution from oil and gas facilities, according to a report by the NAACP and clean air task force. Heather mcteer Toney, national field director for moms clean air force, was also appointed by Obama as a regional administrator for the EPA.

Changes to NEPA were welcomed by oil and gas groups and some labor organizations.’unlocking job-creating infrastructure projects currently stuck in a maze of red tape,’ the American Petroleum Institute said.