Trump points to Maryland highway to make case on speeding environmental reviews

The Baltimore Sun ^ | June 9, 2017 | John Fritze

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

President Donald J. Trump said Friday he wants the federal government to speed the environmental review of major infrastructure projects, and he held out a controversial highway in Maryland to make the case for why the improvements are needed.

Calling the current environmental review process "painfully slow," the president announced his administration will create a new council to help project managers "navigate the bureaucratic maze" as well as an office that would "root out inefficiency."

"We have an obsolete system," the former real estate executive said in a speech at the U.S. Department of Transportation. "Instead of rebuilding our country, Washington has spent decades building a dense thicket of rules, regulations and red tape."

Trump then cited a Maryland highway to describe how he believed the process had gone awry. Trump flipped through three large binders that he said were "unnecessary" and "nonsense." He dropped the binders with large thuds, and at one point appeared to kick one of them out of the way as he returned to the lectern.

Photographers snapped a picture of the binder's label: The documents were from the federal environmental review of the Intercounty Connector, the 18.8-mile Maryland highway that was largely completed in 2011.

"These binders on the stage could be replaced by just a few simple pages, and it would be just as good...," the president said. "Because these binders also make you do unnecessary things that cost billions and billions of dollars and they actually make it worse."

The $2.56 billion highway, which had been under consideration since the Eisenhower administration, connects Interstate 270 in Montgomery County with Interstate 95 in Laurel.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

An oldie but a goodie.

Maryland “Freak State” PING!

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Trump tosses binders full of permit paperwork on the floor in dramatic protest of government regulations (that he worried he'd trip on later but didn't)

[Daffynition]

Dear President Trump

We could have used you during the *Big Dig* in Boston.

Chris Murphy [rat CT] wants to build a new underground interchange in Hartford for I-84 and I-91.

Please squish him like a bug for us.

THX

[DoughtyOne]

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President Donald J. Trump and the Free Republic of the United States of America
President Donald J. Trump's address to the United Nations on 09/19/2017.

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[exDemMom]

Environmental impact studies are the tools used by the anti-growth left to stop construction projects. They just keep filing lawsuit after lawsuit to force more studies and drive up the cost of construction until it becomes unfeasible.

If they were really about the environment, I would think they would consider the impact of NOT building. Those freeways around DC are completely inadequate for the amount of traffic, and the resulting slow downs and hours added to commutes equate to who knows how many extra gallons of fuel burned every day. There is the Metro, but one must still drive to it and it only has so much capacity. Plus, the expense of parking at the Metro station, along with the price of tickets make it not a very attractive alternative to driving.

Reducing required environmental impact studies is important. An even bigger impact could be achieved by forcing “environmental” groups to have to demonstrate actual harm before they can sue to stop a project. And harm has to be defined as being more significant than felling a few common oaks to make way for the road.

[DCPatriot]

And the 'cherry' on top?

After completion, they (Socialists) made it a 100% TOLL ROAD!

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Trump says environmental reports should shrink to ‘a few simple pages’ (6/9)