The Washington Post’s Brad Plummer posted an item Friday that somehow managed to whitewash the National Environmental Policy Act’s starring role in our nation’s infrastructure crisis without ever even mentioning the act. Quite an accomplishment. Plummer begins:
To hear some Republicans tell it, pesky environmental rules are a major reason why it takes so long to build highways and bridges. That’s why the GOP’s transportation bill would speed up reviews for various projects. But is this theory true? The evidence, it turns out, is hard to come by.
This is not a terrible start. Data on how environmental activists use NEPA to delay transportation projects is hard to come by. But Plummer has already limited his scope way too narrowly. NEPA applies to all federal actions, everything from funding computer labs to permitting privately funded oil pipelines, not just transportation projects. Plummer continues:
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