ASSOCIATED PRESS • July 15, 2020
President Trump announced Wednesday that he is rolling back a foundational Nixon-era environmental law that he says stifles infrastructure projects, but that is credited with keeping big construction projects from fouling up the environment and ensuring there is public input on major projects. He aims to make it easier to build highways, pipelines, chemical plants and other projects. “This may be the single biggest giveaway to polluters in the past 40 years,” said Brett Hartl, of the Center for Biological Diversity. Environmental groups say the regulatory rollbacks threaten public health and make it harder to curb global warming.