Sign Ons

Veto Request of HB 267 / SB 426 State Preemption of Seaport Regulation

April 27, 2021 | The legislation presents a potential loss for the economically significant and ecologically iconic Florida Coral Reef Tract, among other Floridian ecosystems, and it potentially kneecaps future substantive efforts that could be used to combat against climate change. Local governments and port authorities should be allowed to retain the power to regulate vessels that might have deleterious impact on local ecosystems, for example on coral reef habitat or hardbottom fish habitat – those very ecosystems that are the driver of billions of dollars in impacts to Florida’s economy.

The Biden Administration’s First 100 Days Priority Environmental Actions

December 7, 2020 | We signed on to the The Biden Administration’s First 100 Days Priority Environmental Actions. We are asking that the incoming administration should prioritize during its first 100 days in office to hit the ground running and to begin as soon as practicable the lengthy processes to reverse the most egregious threats to our clean water and communities.

Main asks in the attached document are as follows:

1. Rescind Trump’s Worst Environmental Executive Orders.

• 13771 1/30/2017 Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs: Arbitrarily directs all federal agencies to repeal at least two existing regulations for each new regulation issued. This requirement has significant potential to create impediments for the Biden regulatory agenda if not promptly rescinded.

• 13778 2/28/2017 Restoring the Rule of Law,Federalism, and Economic Growth by Reviewing the “Waters of the United States” Rule: Directed EPA and the Army Corps to review and replace the 2015 regulatory definition of “waters of the United States” with an unprecedented and extremely narrow jurisdictional definition, leaving vast swaths of the nation’s waters completely unprotected from pollution and/or destruction under federal law. The Privileged and Confidential Working Draft 2 resulting regulation, the 2020 “Navigable Waters Protection Rule,” limits Clean Water Act protections to only large, commercially navigable waters, the territorial seas, and a small subset of the waters that feed into them.

• 13783 3/28/2017 Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth: Directed federal agencies to review,rescind, and/or revise rules and agency actions that impede U.S. energy production.

• 13795 4/28/2017 Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy: Ordered the Secretary of Commerce to review all Marine National Monuments and Marine Sanctuaries designated or expanded since 2007, to assess opportunity cost associated with potential energy and mineral exploration and production from the Outer Continental Shelf.

• 13868 4/10/2019 Promoting Energy Infrastructure and Economic Growth: Directed EPA to review §401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and related regulations and guidance. Instructed EPA to publish proposed rules revising these regulations consistent with the Trump energy dominance agenda within 120 days of the order. The EO instructs EPA to finalize

2. Issue a New Executive Order to “Restore the Clean Water Act.”

• Expedite the process of (1) repairing the tragically broken definition of “waters of the United States,” and (2) restoring state and tribal authority and public participation rights under the CWA section 401 water quality certification process.

3. Prioritize Environmental Justice.

• Expedite revising EO 12898 – or to issue a new executive order

4. Restore the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

• To address the climate crisis, water quality and scarcity issues, environmental justice, and myriad other challenges, we need to strengthen NEPA, not weaken it.

5. Protect Our Public Lands and Waters from Fossil Fuel Extraction

• In addition to withdrawing Executive Orders 13783 and 13795 (see section 1, above), President-elect Biden should follow through on his commitment to ban new fossil fuel leasing on publicly-owned federal lands by issuing a new executive order directing all relevant agencies to pursue such a ban within his administration’s first 100 days.

Nationwide Permits Sign-On Letter: Oppose weakening critical protections for clean water and wildlife habitat

November 16, 2020 | We signed on to urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to withdraw its rushed Proposal to Reissue and Modify Nationwide Permits (NWPs). This proposal would weaken clean water protections and fast-track greater destruction and degradation of water quality and aquatic habitat. On behalf of our millions of members and supporters, we urge the Corps to make full use of the standard five-year NWP revision cycle, postponing this NWP reissuance until 2022, to ensure that activities authorized under the NWPs cause only minimal harm, as required by the Clean Water Act.

Presidential Plastics Action Plan

November 12, 2020 | We signed on to onto the "Presidential Plastics Action Plan" -- a plan for the top 8 executive actions that the next president can take to address the plastic pollution crisis. A coalition of more than 550 community and conservation organizations urges President-elect Biden to address the plastic pollution crisis with a series of executive orders shortly after taking office.

The plan responds to the plastic industry’s aggressive expansion using the country’s oversupply of fracked gas to make throwaway plastic that fills our oceans, landfills and landscapes. Petrochemical-plastic projects harm frontline communities with toxic air and water pollution and worsen the climate crisis. The plan lays out how Biden can make meaningful progress through executive orders alone, without any help from Congress.