Senate Committee Addresses MAP-21 Streamlining Implementation

This week, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee held another hearing to monitor implementation of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) legislation. The focus of this week’s hearing was the project delivery and environmental streamlining provisions in the law. Representatives of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) each testified. DOT reported that the law requires between 50-60 different rule makings and that it has issued guidance on all of the provisions and is focused on finalizing the priority rules first. DOT also noted that the new categorical exclusion (CE) provision for emergency projects was extremely helpful in moving forward with the repair of the Skagit river bridge in Washington state that partially collapsed after being hit by an oversized truck last year. MAP-21 expanded the types of projects that can be included as a CE, a designation that allows for a more abbreviated and speedy environmental review. DOT said the streamlining provisions in MAP-21 were very helpful in moving projects to construction more quickly without undermining environmental protections. The FWS representative, on the other hand, was critical of the provisions. EPW Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who championed not only MAP-21 but specifically the environmental reforms defended the provisions and said that the complaints made by the Fish and Wildlife witness were a result of not fully comprehending the changes made. AGC submitted a letter praising the MAP-21 streamlining provisions as important reforms that moved vitally needed transportation improvements to the construction phase more expeditiously.