Pete Ricketts Urges Officials For Swift Permitting Of FSK Bridge Rebuild

4 months ago

On Wednesday, Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) questioned officials on the process of obtaining permits for the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuilding project in Baltimore, Maryland durign a Senate Environment and Public Work Committee hearing.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you very much, Senator Capito, appreciate that.

00:05So I want to change gears a little bit to talk about the permitting of this because

00:10it's important that we get this done as quickly as possible, I think we all recognize that.

00:15So Administrator Bottin, General Spellman, there has been precedent in this administration

00:20to use alternative arrangements to waive NEPA and other environmental regulations to build

00:25projects for emergency response.

00:27The administration used alternative arrangements to waive the NEPA and bypass the standard

00:33compliance process to establish the Emergency Migrant Housing Encampment in Floyd Bennett

00:38Field, the 1,450-acre National Park Service facility in New York City.

00:44And they did that in less than two weeks.

00:47So does this administration plan to use alternative arrangements to rebuild the Francis Scott

00:51Key Bridge?

00:54Thank you, Senator, for that question.

00:56I'm not aware of waiving NEPA, what we will do is we will issue a categorical exclusion

01:02because we're replacing a bridge in essentially the same footprint as the pre-existing one

01:07and we'll work with the Corps and other resource agencies to get that done.

01:12And so how much time do you think that will save to do the categorical exclusion?

01:18Ninety-eight percent of our projects are categorical exclusions, so it's a very quick determination.

01:24And does this only have to be used, can it only be used in emergency situations?

01:28No, the vast majority of our projects that are within an existing highway footprint are

01:33categorical exclusions.

01:34It's when you get into an EIS, Environmental Impact Statement, or an EIA, an Environmental

01:40Assessment, where you just have more impacts and more study is required.

01:44Okay.

01:45So, because I was actually just talking to a gentleman who represents the iron workers

01:48and he was describing to me a situation, and we'll get to more details to follow up with

01:53you on this, but in Chicago where, again, they were just replacing a bridge and he

01:58said it took like nine years to get the permit on that, and obviously I don't have all the

02:00details on that, but theoretically that could be used for a categorical exclusion too, right?

02:06That if it's just replacing a current bridge that's already there, you could use a categorical

02:11exclusion to save a lot of the time when trying to get the permit.

02:14Is that accurate?

02:16Happy to follow up with you, Senator, on those specific examples.

02:20A lot of it just has to do with the, I'll use the Cape Cod Bridges as an example.

02:26There are whales in the canal that the Cape Cod Bridges cross, and so there's an environmental

02:33impact on endangered species that could have an impact, so it just depends on the context

02:37of the bridge.

02:38Okay.

02:39And then, you said you didn't have any knowledge of ways that you can waive NEPA.

02:43Is that accurate?

02:45Again, waiving NEPA is not something that...

02:49You can't do that?

02:50I don't believe I have the authority to do that, but we can find ways through a categorical

02:55exclusion when we're replacing a bridge that existed in an emergency relief program expenditure.

03:03But even though you said it didn't have to be emergency to use the categorical exclusions?

03:08Correct.

03:09Okay.

03:10And then just, I want to go back to another question I asked earlier.

03:13When you changed the designation for the bridge to the interstate highway system, under what

03:18authority did you do that?

03:23Under the authority of the Federal Highway Administration.

03:27There's a process that we follow where the state says, we'd like this redesignated.

03:31It happens quite a bit, and we have to go through and say, here are the design exceptions

03:35that we would approve.

03:36So I would assume it's under Title 23.

03:40So but there's a process.

03:41Did you follow that process for the Francis Scott Key Bridge?

03:44Absolutely.

03:45Okay, very good.

03:46Thank you very much.

03:47I appreciate it.

03:49Thank you very much.

03:50Senator Cardin.

03:51Senator Ricketts, I want you to, I think Senator, Secretary Wittefeld is also taking steps to

03:57streamline the.

Pete Ricketts Urges Officials For Swift Permitting Of FSK Bridge Rebuild

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