WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Representatives Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) and Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) reintroduced legislation to digitize and streamline the permitting process for transportation infrastructure.
The Interactive Federal Review Act would direct the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to select a minimum of ten federal highway projects to demonstrate the use of interactive, digital, cloud-based platforms to speed up the environmental analysis and community engagement processes required in FHWA projects.
“The current environmental review process for critical infrastructure is needlessly slow and cumbersome. Highway projects like the I-11 take years and years to get off the ground–wasting taxpayer dollars and throwing the brakes on Arizona’s economic growth,” said Stanton. “Our bipartisan Interactive Federal Review Act brings this process into the 21st century, while maintaining responsible environmental stewardship.”
“Our allies outpace America’s permitting process by years,” said Johnson. “The slow, laborious process disincentivizes investments and expansion in our economy. There is no need for the process to be on paper – we must bring these environmental reviews onto a user-friendly, electronic platform to speed up these reviews, and by doing so, our bill could cut review times in half. America’s roads and bridges need quicker approval to ensure the safety and security of drivers, passengers, and our supply chain.”
“The Interactive Federal Review Act proposes replacing outdated PDF-based environmental reviews with interactive, cloud-based platforms for NEPA documents. This could cut review times for major infrastructure projects by 50% through real-time, multi-agency reviews and increased transparency, benefiting communities and the aggregates industry,” said Michele Stanley, Interim CEO of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association. “We thank Rep. Dusty Johnson, Rep. Greg Stanton and Senators Cynthia Lummis and Mark Kelly for this effective solution. The aggregates industry stands ready to meet the needs of all roadway infrastructure projects.”
“ARTBA commends Reps. Johnson (R-S.D.) and Stanton (D-Ariz.) for introducing the Interactive Federal Review Act, which would help get Americans moving by modernizing the permitting process and streamline environmental reviews,” said Dave Bauer, President and CEO of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. “This bipartisan legislation would demonstrate how digital construction technology can help deliver federal highway projects more quickly and ensure taxpayers get the most value from their investment.”
U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. Senate.
Background:
- Since the National Environmental Policy Act’s (NEPA) enactment more than 50 years ago, the time it takes to complete an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has nearly tripled.
- According to FHWA, a typical EIS took 2.5 years on average to perform in the 1970s, 4.5 years in the 1980s, and about 5 years in the 1990s. A typical EIS process currently takes an average of 6.5 years to complete. A project that takes longer than five years to complete an EIS process is considered delayed.
- The Interactive Federal Review Act would address one of the root causes of the delays of environmental reviews for infrastructure projects by moving the development of NEPA documents from trading static PDFs over email to interactive, cloud-based platforms.
- These digital tools are estimated to shorten the cumulative amount of time spent reviewing documents on traditional schedules for large projects by 50% through real-time, concurrent reviews by agencies and more transparency of the NEPA process for impacted communities and individuals.
-
Congress took the first step acknowledging the potential digital portals can have for NEPA projects in the Fiscal Responsibility Act. This bill builds on that progress and brings the concept to highway projects.