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Industry witnesses urge statutory time limits, single‑lead decisions and more agency capacity to unblock projects
Summary
Contractors and electricity cooperatives urged Congress at a House Natural Resources hearing to adopt binding schedules, expand one‑federal‑decision authority and invest in agency capacity to speed permitting for roads, transmission and power projects.
Industry and permitting advocates told the House Natural Resources Committee that the current permitting system is a chief obstacle to delivering roads, transmission lines, and power plants.
"Projects that require federal permits, right of ways, and other approvals are subject to environmental reviews, which are often redundant," said Tony Bowles, board member of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association and vice president at Wright Brothers Construction. Bowles said permitting uncertainty increases project costs and "dilutes limited public sector resources," and recommended three reforms: encourage more states to take on NEPA assignments, enforce one‑federal‑decision timelines and page limits, and raise the federal funding threshold for categorical exclusion to $10 million.
Tony Campbell,…
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