CALLS NEEDED MON-TUES

US Capitol Switchboard - (202) 224-3121

The anti-regulation crowd in Washington DC has launched an attack on the
National Environmental Policy Act through its application on Corps
projects - which would gut our ability to modify bad projects.  This is
among the worst anti-enviro attacks I've ever seen.  Your calls are
needed to House and Senate members.
thanks,
Mark Beorkrem [log in to unmask]
Sierra Corps Reform Task Force

The Water Resources Development Act of 2003 Radically Rewrites NEPA As
Applied To The Corps

Tell our House and Senate members:

*We need More Review, Not Less, For Corps Projects
*It Eliminates Federal Checks On Key Decisions Of this Scandal-Plagued
Agency

*Corps of Engineers projects have pushed many of the nation's rivers to the
verge of collapse, and are a leading reason North America's freshwater
species are disappearing five times faster than land-based species.

*Section 2028 would harm the environment and further erode public confidence
in the Corps' planning process.

*Section 2028 of H.R. 2557, the Water Resources Development Act of 2003,
would drastically decrease scrutiny of Corps of Engineers (Corps) projects,
ignoring calls from the National Academy of Sciences and the Army Inspector
General to increase such scrutiny.

*Section 2028 would eliminate key procedural protections established decades
ago by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and radically alter
judicial review of Corps decisions.
o It would drastically restrict existing federal and state agency reviews
under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
o It would radically alter the process for judicial review of Corps studies
regardless of the legal basis for such challenges.

*Delays in project construction are not caused by the NEPA process, but
typically are the result of funding and staffing constraints.

ELIMINATES REQUIREMENT TO ANALYZE RANGE OF REASONABLE ALTERNATIVES
PROHIBITS INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS BY OTHER AGENCIES
PROHIBITS ANALYSIS OF SIGNIFICANT NEW INFORMATION
RADICALLY ALTERS JUDICIAL REVIEW PROCESS
IMPOSES ARBITRARY AND UNREASONABLE TIME LIMIT ON LEGAL CHALLENGES

The following organizations support comprehensive reform of the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (Corps) to improve its environmental and economic
decision-making. One such necessary reform is the need to increase review of
Corps studies by requiring independent review of studies for costly or
controversial projects.

American Rivers
National Audubon Society
Defenders of Wildlife
National Environmental Trust
Earthjustice
National Wildlife Federation
Environmental Defense
Natural Resources Defense Council
Friends of the Earth
The Ocean Conservancy
League of Conservation Voters
Sierra Club
Mississippi River Basin Alliance
The Wilderness Society

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