Attorney General Tong Strongly Urges Trump Administration to Halt Unlawful Proposed Rule Amending U.S. EPA’s Regulations Implementing NEPA

07/27/2026

(Hartford, CT)- Connecticut Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of 14 attorneys general in submitting a comment letter to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) strongly urging it to refrain from moving forward with its proposed rule amending its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The proposed rule would significantly weaken the implementation of NEPA by limiting the consideration of harmful impacts associated with federal projects, curtailing public involvement in NEPA reviews, and complicating federal and state coordination of environmental review. In the comment letter, the coalition argues that the proposed rule would create significant environmental harm to communities nationwide and lead to less-informed environmental decisions. The coalition also argues that the rule is illegal and violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and NEPA.

“The EPA cannot simply ignore federal law because it finds it inconvenient. The National Environmental Policy Act ensures decisions are based on facts and science, not politics. This illegal proposal would undermine protections and put people and our environment at greater risk,” said Attorney General Tong.

Enacted in 1969, NEPA is one of the nation’s foremost environmental statutes. NEPA requires that before any federal agency undertakes a “major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment,” it must take a “hard look” at significant environmental impacts of major federal actions and inform the public about that “hard look” before undertaking such action. As relevant here, EPA is responsible for reviewing environmental impact statements prepared by other federal agencies when those agencies permit major energy, transportation and infrastructure projects.

In the comment letter, the coalition asserts that:

• The rule would strip communities of their voice and protection, allowing major federal projects to move forward without fully considering the environmental and health risks they pose to the people who live nearby.
• The rule is arbitrary and capricious and violates the APA and NEPA by not adequately explaining the agency’s complete shift away from the standards for public participation and consideration of environmental impacts that it has used for decades.
• EPA’s proposal to exclude indirect and cumulative impacts from consideration in environmental reviews would create confusion in federal project planning, undermine consistent environmental oversight, and allow significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions to go unchecked.

In submitting the comment letter, Attorney General Tong joins the attorneys general of California, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia.

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