The National and Environmental Policy Act

Floor Speech

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 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.

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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