Texas, federal government strike deal aiming to speed up state infrastructure projects
WASHINGTON - A new agreement between the Federal Highway Administration and the Texas Department of Transportation will give the state more authority to conduct environmental reviews, a move the government says will accelerate the construction of bridge and highway projects.
The agreement, announced Friday by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, is an extension of the National Environmental Policy Act allowing states to conduct environmental reviews for these projects. Texas has been a participating state since 2014.
Under the new agreement, Texas will only need to renew its contract with the government every 10 years, as opposed to the current guidelines of every five years.
What they're saying:
"Texas taking responsibility for the Federal environmental approval process has served to expedite transportation projects and reduce costs," TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams said in a statement. "This new agreement is a significant step forward by the Trump Administration to solidify a strong federal-state partnership and empower Texas to efficiently move projects forward."
In a release Friday, Duffy pointed to projects like State Highway 34A in Houston and Downtown Interstate 10 in El Paso as projects benefitting from the agreement.
Changes to the agreement
The new agreement removes some of the guardrails put in place for the program from the Biden Administration like regulations set by the Council on Environmental Quality and requiring public notice of the right to sue TxDOT under Title VI.
It also removes the requirement to complete an annual self-assessment and the reporting of some performance measures.
What they're saying:
"The Biden Administration added burdensome NEPA requirements like environmental justice initiatives that delayed progress on vital road and bridge projects. No wonder nothing got done!" Duffy said. "This agreement is just another example of how our department is committed to America building again. If enacted, Texas’ new agreement will allow the state to tackle critical infrastructure bigger, better and faster."
Eight states currently participate in the program: Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio, Texas and Utah.
The Source: Information on Texas' renewal of it's NEPA agreement comes from a release by the U.S. Department of Transportation. States participating in NEPA comes from the Center for Environmental Excellence.