Plan calls for fewer environmental rules

WASHINGTON» The White House has drafted a proposal to scale back environmental requirements in an effort to make it easier to construct roads, bridges and pipelines across the country as part of an infrastructure plan that President Donald Trump could release as soon as next week, according to a document obtained by The Washington Post.

The plan would change things such as how officials decide a pipeline route, how a proposed border wall with Mexico would be built and whether the National Park Service could object to a development that would impair tourists’ views from scenic parks such as the Grand Canyon.

Administration officials — who have briefed GOP lawmakers, multiple trade associations and other groups about their plans — have emphasized they are willing to alter elements of the legislative package to win enough votes to pass it in the Senate. But they have made it clear they are seeking to make the most sweeping changes in decades to how the federal government approves and oversees infrastructure projects.

“We have no intention of eroding environmental protections,” said Alex Hergott, associate director of infrastructure at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, when he addressed the Transportation Research Board’s annual conference earlier this month.

“However, there is no denying that there is duplication and redundancy in the process that is worth taking a hard look at.”

A White House official on Friday described the document as an earlier “discussion draft.” But individuals familiar with the plan said many of the proposals are still the basis for negotiations with lawmakers.

Trump identified an infrastructure bill as a top priority for his first 100 days in office, but it was delayed while he focused on bruising legislative battles over health care and tax cuts. Aides say the president will pitch his plan during next week’s State of the Union address and flesh out the details shortly afterward.

Critics of the administration said the proposal, outlined in the document, would gut key environmental protections enshrined in laws dating back to the 1970s, such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.

“The administration’s legislative outline for infrastructure sacrifices clean air, water, the expertise of career agency staff and bedrock environmental laws,” National Parks Conservation Association president and CEO Theresa Pierno said in an email. “In short, the proposal reveals that this administration is not serious about restoring America’s infrastructure.”

Trump has argued that voluminous environmental studies should be pared down to “a few simple pages,” and he has made broad declarations about how easy and productive the world would be without complex regulations.

“Clearly, they are trying to get these things built more quickly. That can be done while maintaining the necessary environmental protections, because a lot of what holds this up is needless, duplicative review,” said Nick Goldstein, vice president of regulatory and legal issues at the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

New limits and deadlines would be imposed on federal agencies reviewing projects, and in some cases agencies — especially the Environmental Protection Agency — could be limited in their ability to weigh in on the permitting process.

The plan would also give the Interior secretary the right to approve rights of way for natural gas pipelines to cross national park lands, a move that currently requires congressional authorization.

Besides streamlining permitting, the administration hopes to spur additional investment by state and local governments and the private sector in a broad array of infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges, rail lines, airports, waterways and broadband.

Administration officials have said publicly for months that they think $200 billion in federal money over the next decade could spur at least $800 billion more in spending by local governments and the private sector.

More recently, Trump has offered a higher number, saying he believes the total new spending could exceed $1.7 trillion dollars in the coming decade.