Scalise, Graves tout proposed revamp of federal environmental permitting process

U.S. House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) and U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) last week applauded the Trump administration’s decision to modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process.

“Through a more efficient and less complex permitting process, we can more efficiently construct energy infrastructure, coastal restoration and flood protection projects in Louisiana and across the country while still protecting our environment,” Rep. Scalise said on Jan. 9.

“The president is a builder. He knows firsthand how slow, inefficient and costly the federal review and permitting processes can be for projects both large and small,” said Rep. Graves. “I applaud the administration for its efforts to modernize the NEPA process and inject some commonsense into environmental reviews.”

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) last week released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to update its regulations for NEPA, which requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impacts of proposed major federal actions as part of their decision-making, according to CEQ.

In announcing the NPRM at the White House, President Donald Trump said currently “it takes many, many years to get something built. Nobody is happy. It takes 20 years. It takes 30 years. It takes numbers that nobody would even believe.”

And such “endless delays,” he said, waste money, delay the start of projects, and deny jobs.

“That is why, for the first time in over 40 years, today we are issuing a proposed new rule under the National Environmental Policy Act to completely overhaul the dysfunctional bureaucratic system that has created these massive obstructions,” Trump said, adding that the “proposed reforms will reduce traffic in our cities, connect our rural communities, and get Americans where they need to go more quickly and more safely.”

Rep. Scalise called the proposal “a strong step in the right direction” that will result in “more shovels in the ground on projects that improve Americans’ everyday lives.”

“Streamlining the review of proposed roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure projects will save the taxpayers money while maintaining necessary protections for the environment, public safety and human health,” added Rep. Graves. “I look forward to seeing this long overdue modernization of the NEPA regulations move forward.”