Say No To Section 80151 of the Funding Bill Please!

I am calling on you to strongly oppose and help remove Section 80151: “Project Sponsor Opt-In Fees for Environmental Reviews” from the budget reconciliation bill you are currently considering. This dangerous “pay to play” provision will let industries and developers pay an up-front, environmental review fee, in exchange for federal agencies turning a blind eye to a project’s impacts to habitat, lands, waters, and our air. This is wrong. I do not want a mining or oil and gas company - or any other entity - to have the ability to get a green light for a project anywhere in the United States that would destroy wildlife habitat or harm the environment, as long as an upfront fee was paid. This provision is further especially troubling because the upfront fee also guarantees that the environmental review will be deemed adequate and lawful, no matter how flawed it might be. That means the project will be able to move forward regardless of the harm it will cause to me, my neighbors, my community, wildlife, or our environment. Please fulfill your responsibility to me and our state by doing all you can to remove this provision from the bill. I am counting on you to stand up for people, wildlife, and our natural world by removing the “pay to play” provision from the budget bill, Section 80151: “Project Sponsor Opt-In Fees for Environmental Reviews”. Thank you.