Thought the members of this list would want to see this. It is from the Surface
Transportation Policy Project (STPP) They are a very good group to know and support.
They can be found at www.transact.org:
-- Robbie
**********************
Below is the coalition's joint press release on H.R. 5455, "Expediting Project
Delivery to Improve Transportation and the Environment Act," -- the environmental
streamlining bill introduced this week by Congressman Young. The legislation
threatens NEPA and other environmental and historic preservation statutes, and fails
to address the real issues of project delivery shortcomings.
--Nancy Jakowitsch, STPP
==========================================
Environmental Defense * Sierra Club * National Coalition to Defend NEPA * Natural
Resources Defense Council * National Trust for Historic Preservation * Scenic America
* Defenders of Wildlife * Surface Transportation Policy Project
For Immediate Release
Contacts: Michael Replogle, 202 387-3500
September 27, 2002
Melody Flowers, 202 675-7915
Groups Harshly Criticize Rep. Young for Bill Limiting Environmental Reviews of Highway
Projects
(27 September 2002 - Washington, DC) Environmental Defense, Sierra Club, the National
Coalition to Defend NEPA, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Trust
for Historic Preservation, Scenic America, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Surface
Transportation Policy Project today called on House of Representatives Transportation
and Infrastructure Committee chair Don Young (R-Alaska) to withdraw H.R. 5455, called
EXP*DITE, which he introduced Wednesday. The groups urged other members of Congress to
oppose the bill.
In a so-called "streamlining" of highway project reviews and permitting by natural
resources agencies and historic preservation officials, the bill, in fact,
substantively and procedurally curtails public involvement and environmental reviews
by limiting time periods and subject matters covered in environmental impact
statements and environmental assessments as required by the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA).
"This bill would seriously undermine public health, endangered species and threatened
wetlands by weakening natural resource laws," said Fred Krupp executive director of
Environmental Defense. "It makes the transportation objective paramount over natural
resource agencies' missions to protect public health and the environment."
"Limiting review to just 30 days prevents scientists from examining projects
carefully," said Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope. "Biologists may take just
a few days to judge the impacts of a new bike path, but when you're building a 10-lane
bridge across a river and constructing off-ramps through a wetlands filled with birds,
it's just not that simple. Rep. Young's bill is blind to the complexities facing
highway planners, scientists and our communities."
"H.R.5455 is a double barreled blast at historic places. First, substantive
protections are eviscerated, and then eviserated protections are waived in favor of
weaker, procedural protections," said Richard Moe, President, National Trust for
Historic Preservation.
The bill limits natural resource agencies' reviews to just 30 days on major project
decisions like choice of alternatives and objectives of the project. Although the
bill claims it does not limit public involvement, it describes an agency-only
decisionmaking process that must operate on an extremely tight schedule. "This bill
would put at risk decades of progress in protecting the environment, historic
structures and areas, parks, critical habitat, and endangered species," said Meg
Maguire, president of Scenic America.
"This is a bad solution in search of a problem. Actions by the federal government,
including the President's Executive Order last week, show effective progress to
improve project delivery. This is unneeded, harmful legislation," said David Burwell,
executive director of the Surface Transportation Policy Project.
The bill makes the Federal Highway Administration the decision-maker for all highway
projects, plans and decisions relating to projects, including whether there are
alternatives, how detailed studies should be, and the purpose and need (objectives)
for the project.
"Under the guise of speeding up environmental reviews some in Congress are trying to
steamroll key safeguards and shut the public out of the process," said Kaid Benfield
of NRDC. "But the government's own data shows that most transportation project delays
aren't caused by such reviews."
"To demand that resource agencies devote their own limited resources to make highway
projects a priority is unreasonable and arrogant," said Trisha White of Defenders of
Wildlife.
The environmental groups charge that the bill effectively excludes the public and
local elected officials from input to the decisions that affect their environment,
quality of life, land use, open spaces and precious natural and historic resources.
"We're going to fight this bill tooth and nail," said Janine Bauer, executive director
of the National Coalition to Defend NEPA. "We turned back anti-environment efforts
like this in 1998, and we will again."
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