Environmental Review
A New Bill Passes, But America’s Transpo Policy Stays Stuck in 20th Century
The House of Representatives approved the transportation bill conference report this afternoon by a vote of 373 to 52. [UPDATE 4:00 PM: The Senate has also approved the bill, 74-19.] This is a bill that’s been called “a death blow to mass transit” by the Amalgamated Transit Union, “a step backwards for America's transportation system” by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, “a retreat from the goals of sustainability and economic resiliency” by Reconnecting America, “a substantial capitulation” by Transportation for America, and “bad news for biking and walking” by America Bikes.
June 29, 2012
Civil Rights Groups Rally Against Threat to Environmental Review
A coalition of civil rights and environmental groups is crying foul over proposed changes to an important environmental protection as lawmakers attempt to hammer out a last minute deal on the transportation bill.
June 21, 2012
Senate’s Changes to TIFIA Could Mean More Toll Roads, Less Transit
When the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously passed a two-year transportation reauthorization bill last month, it quickly became clear that bipartisan support was coming at a price. First, we learned that the Transportation Enhancements bike/ped programs would lose their dedicated funding. Now, we learn that Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loans will no longer hold applicants to as high an environmental standard -- or any standard, really.
December 21, 2011
Are Environmental Reviews to Blame for Infrastructure Project Delays?
Highway projects can take 10 to 15 years from planning through construction. The length of the process leads to cost overruns, some due to inflation, some from having to pay engineers and contractors for years on end. No matter how you feel about the worthiness of road capacity expansion, if a project gets built it doesn't do anybody any good to have that project cost twice what it ought to because of delays. Plus, reducing delays is going to be a key element in upcoming debates over cost-effectiveness in the transportation sector.
February 15, 2011
New GOP Bill Would Bar Enviro Reviews from Considering Climate
Republicans on the Senate environment committee, who months ago began criticizing the Obama administration for evaluating federally funded infrastructure projects for their impact on climate change, today introduced legislation that would bar the White House from making climate a factor in environmental reviews.
April 20, 2010
Environmental Reviews: Helpful (and Hurtful) to Many Ideologies
Writing at the Heritage Foundation's blog, Nick Loris says that the White House's pending decision on whether to consider climate change in federal environmental reviews amounts to "more green tape."
January 5, 2010
Does the State Senate’s MTA Plan Pass Environmental Muster?
The Municipal Art Society came out with a report yesterday urging New York State to start analyzing greenhouse gas emissions in its environmental review process (SEQRA). MAS argues that the policy could be adopted without changing existing laws, which raises an interesting question to ponder on this Earth Day afternoon: Would the State Senate's latest MTA funding plan pass muster if it were subject to an EIS that factors in climate change?
April 22, 2009
Senate Requires Environmental Approval For Stimulus Projects
The final draft of the Senate's economic recovery bill will require all projects funded by the stimulus to
have approval under the National Environmental Protection
Act, or NEPA. Sponsored by Barbara Boxer, the NEPA amendment (full text after the jump) was adopted late Thursday following
Republican attempts to exempt highway projects from environmental oversight.
February 9, 2009