Attorney General Bonta Co-Leads 21-Member Coalition Opposing Postal Service Rollback of NEPA Regulations
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced in Oakland on November 9 that he co-led a coalition of 21 attorneys general, cities and counties in submitting a comment letter to the United States Postal Service (USPS) opposing its interim final rule that weakens its implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The rule rescinds most of USPS's NEPA regulations and replaces them with non-binding internal procedures that omit crucial provisions, curtail public involvement in NEPA reviews, and identify vague and overly broad categorical exclusions from NEPA requirements, including for purchases and fuel conversion of vehicles with comparable or improved relative fuel efficiency and air emissions, and for certain purchase or sale of existing facilities, unless USPS finds extraordinary circumstances apply. The coalition argues USPS should retract the rule, which it says will lead to less-informed decision making about the environmental impacts of major federal actions nationwide.
'NEPA's protections are in place to ensure that federal development does not compromise the safety, wellbeing, or sustainability of our environment and the populations that inhabit it. When environmental impacts are ignored or crucial opinions are left out of the decision-making process, our communities bear the burden,' Bonta said, urging the Trump Administration to withdraw the rule and implement NEPA's core provisions prioritizing transparency and public accountability.
The coalition asserts that the non-binding procedures are contrary to the law and purpose of NEPA, do not require USPS to allow all affected states, Tribal or local governments to comment on draft NEPA reviews, and can be unilaterally altered, shifting an increased evaluation burden onto the states; and that multiple categorical exclusions are drafted too broadly, covering actions that require case-by-case analysis.
Enacted in 1969, NEPA requires federal agencies to analyze and publicly disclose the environmental impacts of proposed federal actions and identify feasible alternatives. The Attorney General's office said USPS published the interim final rule on September 25, 2026, as part of steps under President Trump's 'Unleashing American Energy' executive order.
Bonta co-led the letter with New York Attorney General Letitia James and Washington Attorney General Nicholas W. Brown, joined by the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia, along with the Harris County Attorney and the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York.
(Source: California Attorney General's Office)
Source: California Attorney General's Office
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