Penobscot Bay Waterkeeper Fights Attacks on Civil Action and Bedrock Environmental Laws
While most of our efforts are focused on grassroots and local communities, our steadfast commitment to protect water quality in Penobscot Bay sometimes requires us to advocate for or against national policies. Along with about 100 other environmental groups nationally, we were pleased to sign on to a letter that strongly advocates against the current attacks on civil action and environmental laws as proposed in H.R. 8037, Protect American AI Act of 2026.
"Section 3 of the act explicitly states that 'civil actions relating to environmental review… shall not affect the validity of a permit, license, or approval issued for the data center or covered infrastructure.' This statute applies to our nation’s most critical bedrock environmental laws: the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Federal Water Pollution Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Natural Gas Act.
For decades, these laws have been indispensable in ensuring that taxpayer dollars and public lands and resources are managed for the public interest and to uphold our national commitment to a healthy environment for current and future generations. The promise of the environmental review process is simple and is at the heart of democracy: the government will consider the environmental and health impacts of its decisions, disclose those impacts to those affected, and give the public a meaningful opportunity to weigh in on those decisions. If the government fails to meet these responsibilities, it will be subject to judicial review."
Read the full letter here.
Thank you for your continued support. Onward!
