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(8 October 2002--Washington, D.C.) Testifying today before a
House subcommittee, Environmental Defense transportation director
Michael Replogle strongly opposed H.R. 5455, a bill that would
undermine important provisions of the National Environmental
Protection Act (NEPA).
"Passage of this bill will jeopardize public health, harm efforts
to preserve endangered species and threaten valuable wetlands and
communities by impairing accountability," said Replogle. "Some
state transportation agencies have had trouble administering the 40%
increase in funds they got in the last transportation bill. To
cover up their poor performance, shaky financing deals and
accounting scandals, road builders want to cook the books, hide
information and blame the environmentalists."
Testifying before the Subcommittee on Highway and Transit,
Replogle cautioned members of Congress that H.R. 5455, sponsored by
Rep. Don Young (R-AK), would weaken environmental laws created under
NEPA by setting arbitrary deadlines that are far too short to meet
important goals. The deadlines fail to give local officials,
community groups, environmental agencies and scientists sufficient
time to determine the impacts of proposed projects. The bill
also gives authority over projects to distant federal highway
bureaucrats, leaving local and state transportation officials in the
dark.
"Through early community involvement, sensible planning and
utilization of existing programs, high quality highway projects can
be advanced quickly and without discarding important environmental
and historic resource safeguards, as the experience of Oregon and
Vermont shows," Replogle said. "H.R. 5455 on the other hand
would encourage development of more poorly planned, poorly designed
highway projects and will spur conflict that will further hinder
overall transportation progress."
Replogle dismissed claims by proponents of H.R. 5455 that
environmental reviews are too time consuming and create delays in
highway projects. The U.S. government's own data included in
Replogle's testimony showed nearly two-thirds (63%) of projects are
delayed because of lack of funding, low priority, local controversy
and complexities stemming from project design and
construction.
### Environmental Defense, a leading national
nonprofit organization based in New York, represents more than
300,000 members. Since 1967 we have linked science, economics, and
law to create innovative, equitable, and cost-effective solutions to
the most urgent environmental problems.
www.environmentaldefense.org | 
