[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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