[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 149 (Wednesday, October 23, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H6680-H6681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE NATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, today the House begins consideration of 
the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, which includes in the 
title the word ``reform'' but would represent a huge step backwards.
  This legislation would have significant impact on the way the Army 
Corps of Engineers conducts projects that are critical to the Nation's 
environmental and economic health. I have long worked to help the Corps 
be a better partner which, in times past, has proved troublesome.
  It was my pleasure to work with the head of the Corps previously, 
General Robert Flowers, and his staff to change the way the Corps does 
business. Otherwise, we can waste a lot of money and

[[Page H6681]]

inflict unnecessary environmental damage.
  One of the ways the Corps meets its environmental responsibilities is 
by compliance with the National and Environmental Policy Act, NEPA, 
signed into law on New Year's Day in 1970 by President Richard Nixon.
  Earlier this year, Glen Bowman, an official with the Georgia 
Department of Transportation, shared with Georgia legislators President 
Nixon's observation that clean air, clean water, open space should be 
the birthright of every American. Through our years of past 
carelessness, we have incurred a debt to nature that is now being 
called.
  Mr. Bowman told the legislators that 43 years later the price tag is 
even higher, some problems remain, and daunting challenges loom, but 
that NEPA's impact is unquestionable. It remains the Nation's guiding 
environmental star.
  He observes that environmental needs and protecting the environment 
are not mutually exclusive, and it is important to work together to 
achieve those objectives.

                              {time}  1015

  Sadly, for me, the most critical element in a bill that I would like 
to support is the damage to the NEPA process. Placing an artificial 
time limit of 150 days, restricting the internal activities of the 
agencies, giving them limited time to move the process along, 
interfering with the chain of command, cutting out the public from the 
process, and forcing a shorter time for litigation is unnecessary. It 
is ill-advised, and it is not going to solve the problem. Project 
delays are not a result of the NEPA process. There are billions of 
dollars of projects that are already approved and ready to go--$60 
billion by some estimates. The problem is that Congress has not 
adequately funded the Corps.
  I will be offering an amendment with the gentleman from Oregon, 
Congressman DeFazio, that simply suspends this ill-advised amendment to 
NEPA, seriously compromising it and the public process, until the 
project backlog disappears in order to move forward with the already 
approved projects. Ironically, this bill would add to the backlog while 
it truncates the NEPA process.
  NEPA protects community values. It can often result in alternatives 
that are even less costly as well as less damaging to the environment. 
Before we rush to implement ill-advised changes under the guise of 
reform, let's get rid of the backlog of already approved projects first 
and be able to work through the consequences.
  Forcing more projects that will be ill-considered will make them less 
worthy of funding. For agencies that are chronically underfunded and 
are facing further budget cuts, imposing artificial time limits on an 
already overwhelming backlog is not a prescription for more development 
projects being completed and better performance. It is a prescription 
for sloppy work, ill-advised approvals, and more litigation when we 
should be concentrating on getting the job done. It will make it harder 
to serve the public and get the financial support to build vital 
projects.
  I urge my colleagues to support the DeFazio-Blumenauer amendment to 
reduce the backlog of projects ready to go before complicating and 
weakening environmental protections and the public's right to 
participate.
  I now would like to enter into the Record the comments of Mr. Glenn 
Bowman from the Georgia Department of Transportation.

                         NEPA Is the Guide Star

                           (By Glenn Bowman)

       Shortly after signing the National Environmental Policy Act 
     (NEPA) into law on New Year's Day in 1970, President Richard 
     Nixon discussed it in his State of the Union Address:
       ``The great question . . . is shall we make peace with 
     nature and begin to make reparations for the damage we have 
     done to our air, our land and our water? . . . Clean air, 
     clean water, open spaces--these should once again be the 
     birthright of every American. . . . The price tag is high. 
     Through our years of past carelessness, we have incurred a 
     debt to nature. Now that debt is being called.''
       Now, 43 years later, that price tag is even higher. Some 
     old problems remain, and daunting new challenges loom. Still, 
     NEPA's impact is unquestionable; it remains the nation's 
     environmental guide star.
       At Georgia's Department of Transportation--the entity 
     responsible for more earth work in this state than any 
     other--NEPA has a huge impact on planning, designing and 
     building transportation infrastructure. Virtually everything 
     we do begins with ``complying with the NEPA process.''
       We must:
       Protect water quality, air quality, endangered plant and 
     animal species and their habitats, migratory birds, wetlands, 
     streams, rivers, harbors, flood plains, farmlands and the 
     soil itself;
       Preserve historic and culturally significant buildings and 
     places;
       Save archaeologically significant resources;
       Guard against noise pollution;
       Make certain native peoples and the disadvantaged are 
     treated equitably;
       Mitigate for unavoidable impacts, and always engage the 
     public in our decision-making process.
       This requires a considerable investment in time, staff and 
     money. Making a project NEPA-compliant sometimes requires re-
     routing; re-locating cemeteries and historic structures; and 
     archaeological ``digs'' to recover important artifacts. We 
     create or improve wetlands and streams to mitigate for like 
     areas that need to be altered. We work with affected 
     residents to help offset impacts to their neighborhoods and 
     lives.
       Recently, the need to study areas of North Georgia for the 
     presence of the endangered Indiana and gray bats has garnered 
     attention. Such examination simply is part of a process we 
     are required by law to undertake for numerous plant and 
     animal species, be they cuddly or creepy.
       With as many as 700 projects ongoing at any time, not 
     everyone is always going to be satisfied. But our foremost 
     mission is to help make those 700 projects realities; keep 
     motorists safe and moving, and grow that network as Georgia 
     grows.
       Meeting our transportation needs and protecting our 
     environment are not mutually exclusive objectives; doing both 
     does not have to be a contentious, adversarial struggle. 
     Working together--internally, with partner agencies, 
     businesses, local governments and citizens--we can repay our 
     debt to nature, have a world-class transportation system, and 
     preserve the beauty and many wonders of Georgia for 
     generations to come.

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