Sean Duffy pushes permitting reform to ‘clear the deck’ of red tape

Duffy added: “If you look at what we’re going to do with Texas, I would encourage every state to take a look at that and engage in those kinds of partnerships with us.”

The agreement extends Texas’s authority under the NEPA to conduct its own environmental reviews, a role the state has held since 2014. Under the revised agreement, Texas will renew its contract with the federal government every 10 years instead of every five. The agreement streamlines the environmental review process, reducing the time required to approve new highway projects.

The new agreement rolls back several Biden-era safeguards, eliminating regulations from the Council on Environmental Quality and the requirement to notify the public of their right to sue TxDOT under Title VI. It also does away with the annual self-assessment and certain performance reporting obligations.

While all states are eligible to participate in the NEPA program, Texas is one of only seven with an active agreement, according to the FHWA, with Nebraska currently in the process of enrolling. 

The agreement was announced in late June, but Duffy formally signed it alongside members of the Texas DOT and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), announcing plans to “usher in a golden age of transportation.” Duffy said both Democrats and Republicans agree on the need for reform to speed up infrastructure projects, noting that lawmakers from both parties want more funding and faster approvals. 

Congress’s push to reform environmental reviews for energy projects unraveled last December. More than six months later, lawmakers are reviving the effort with a new bipartisan coalition. The newly launched Build America Caucus in the House aims to tackle permitting delays and cut red tape to speed up the construction of housing, infrastructure, and energy projects. While Congress works to gain momentum, Duffy urges states to collaborate directly with the Department of Transportation to keep projects moving. 

“They want more infrastructure, and they want their projects to move more quickly, and so we’re going to need their partnership to clear the deck on some of these laborious rules that make things more challenging and more difficult for us,” Duffy said.

As Congress gears up to tackle the surface transportation reauthorization package, Duffy issued a nationwide call for ideas to help shape the next major infrastructure bill. A new request for public comment invites input from state officials, industry leaders, and trade groups, with a notice set to appear soon in the Federal Register outlining recommendations for what the package should include.

The DOT’s request for input on the surface transportation package comes as key transportation agencies face steep workforce reductions. According to reporting by Reuters, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Federal Highway Administration, and Federal Transit Administration are each expected to lose more than 25% of their staff.

TRUMP SEVERS FUNDING FOR ‘DISASTEROUSLY OVERPRICED’ CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL PROJECT

The call for ideas also follows the department’s decision just one day earlier to revoke $4 billion in funding from California’s high-speed rail project.

“It took 16 years and $15 billion in California high-speed rail to not lay one track,” Duffy said Thursday. “The Second Avenue project in New York will take four years and $4 billion to build a mile of subway. We have to do better, and we can do better.”

“It took five years to build the Hoover Dam. It took four years to build the Golden Gate Bridge,” he added.