The state attorney general’s office said Nov. 9, 2026, that Attorney General co-led a coalition of 21 attorneys general, cities and counties in submitting a comment to the U.S. Postal Service opposing an interim final rule that rescinds most of USPS’s National Environmental Policy Act regulations.

The office said the rule replaces binding NEPA regulations with non‑binding internal procedures that omit key provisions, curtail public involvement and identify broad categorical exclusions from NEPA requirements.

USPS published the interim final rule on Sept. 25, 2026. The release says it creates categorical exclusions for purchases and fuel conversions of vehicles with comparable or improved fuel efficiency and emissions and for certain purchases or sales of existing facilities; those actions would skip a full NEPA review unless USPS finds "extraordinary circumstances" apply.

The coalition, the office said, argues the change will lead to less-informed decision making about the environmental impacts of major federal actions and will increase the burden on states and the public to evaluate USPS projects because non‑binding procedures can be changed unilaterally.

Bonta, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Washington Attorney General Nicholas W. Brown co‑led the filing, which the release says also includes 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 New York City.

"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," Attorney General Bonta said in the release. "Uninformed decisions manifest in polluted air, compromised water, and overall greater climate risks that get passed down to future generations."

NEPA, enacted in 1969, requires federal agencies to analyze and publicly disclose the environmental impacts of proposed federal actions and to accept public comments on those reviews; the attorney general’s office said the interim rule undercuts those core obligations.

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Rob Bonta

Attorney General · Democrat

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