Proposed Rule Alters How the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Applies to...

Proposed Rule Alters How the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Applies
to Oceans; Would Create a Bad Precedent, Stifle Public Participation

Bush Administration Continues its Attacks on the Environment, No Relief in
Sight

WASHINGTON, July 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being issued
by the Marine Fish Conservation Network:

Conservationists today urged the Bush administration to withdraw its proposed
procedures for complying with the National Environmental Policy Act when
managing ocean fish and to craft a new rule that will protect valuable natural
resources while allowing for greater public participation in the environmental
review process.

NEPA, the nation's preeminent conservation law, ensures that public officials
make informed decisions about the environmental consequences of their actions
by requiring thorough environmental assessments with public participation.
This is the same law that helped to protect thousands of square miles of deep
sea coral, reduced mortality of endangered sea turtles and began the process
of rebuilding depleted fish populations while ensuring robust public
participation in federal fisheries management. But the Bush administration's
proposal, published on May 14, 2008, is full of loopholes and exclusions that
would do little to protect the environment.

This NEPA proposal could create a bad precedent affecting the application of
NEPA to other aspects of the environment since it provides a roadmap for other
federal agencies to modify their NEPA procedures.

"This proposal is a cynical attempt to shove the public out of its rightful
role in protecting public resources," said Andrea Treece, senior attorney in
the Center for Biological Diversity's oceans program. "Fishing affects
virtually every ecosystem and species in the sea, from the fish we eat, to
whales we thrill to watch, sea turtles we strive to protect and coral reefs
that support local economies. Leaving the management of these national
treasures to guesswork and backroom deals instead of sound science and public
input is simply unacceptable."

According to law, a NEPA review must include an analysis of a full suite of
alternatives to the proposed action. This will help ensure that the broader
impacts of a proposed action are examined and minimized. But, the Bush
administration's proposal not only undercuts and complicates the NEPA process,
it also makes it even more difficult to conduct a proper and necessary
environmental review.

"Overfishing, pollution, bycatch and global warming are already putting a
heavy strain on the habitats of several imperiled seabird species," said Steve
Kress, director of Audubon's seabirds program. "More than ever, we need to
make decisions based on good science. Instead, the federal government's
weakening of environmental review protections will stack the odds in favor of
industry and likely degrade habitat further."

As written, the Bush administration's proposed rule would undermine NEPA by
severely limiting the public's right to participate in fishery management
decisions and even shutting out the public from future participation, if they
don't weigh in during the initial round of public comments. It would also
allow the regional fishery management councils to control environmental
reviews. Many of these councils are dominated by fishing interests and have
mismanaged our oceans for decades. Additionally, the proposal gives fishery
managers the power to make fishing decisions without adequately considering
the impacts on other components of ocean ecosystems such as sea turtles,
seals, corals and other precious ocean life.

"The effectiveness of NEPA is due, in large part, to the fact that it provides
a concrete method for concerned citizens to become involved in and to
challenge government actions if they are not following the law," said Caitlin
Hills, National Forest Program Director for American Lands Alliance. "The
government moves through the guidelines and procedures to implement the law
and make decisions. This common sense 'look before you leap' requirement leads
to better decisions and helps the government avoid making mistakes. This
proposal weakens that process."

The public can submit official comments on the proposal through August 12,
2008 by going to
www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/MFCN/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=24897

For a recording of today's press call on the NEPA proposal, please go to
www.audubon.org or www.biologicaldiversity.org.

SOURCE Marine Fish Conservation Network

Tony DeFalco of the Marine Fish Conservation Network, +1-503-234-3505