ARTBA addresses wetlands permissions

The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) is offering the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) advice on reducing unnecessary regulatory red-tape on transportation projects through improving the wetlands permissions process. ARTBA has submitted comments to the Corps in response to a government-wide regulatory review initiated by President Obama in 2011. This advice from ARTBA details specific recommendations to make wetlands permitting more efficient. ARTBA is working on ways to reduce u
April 19, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) is offering the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) advice on reducing unnecessary regulatory red-tape on transportation projects through improving the wetlands permissions process. ARTBA has submitted comments to the Corps in response to a government-wide regulatory review initiated by President Obama in 2011. This advice from ARTBA details specific recommendations to make wetlands permitting more efficient. ARTBA is working on ways to reduce unnecessary delays in the transportation review and approval process. Currently, it can take anywhere from nine to 19 years for a project to go from planning to completion. ARTBA stressed the need to make the wetlands permitting process less complicated, without sacrificing environmental protections. It has asked the Corps to place strict time limits on permitting decisions, allowing planners to know exactly when a decision would be reached on a project and plan accordingly. ARTBA has suggested that no permits should be required when projects do not have an ecological effect on wetlands, and regulations should not be mandated when there is no practical need. In addition ARTBA also suggests that the US 1293 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should be removed from permission decisions. Protection of sensitive areas is assured though through ARTBA’s plan as both US Congress and the courts have given the Corps the sole responsibility for wetlands permissions. This policy would reduce bureaucracy as there is no need for two agencies to carry out a job that can be handled by one. ARTBA’s recent comments represent the fourth agency-wide regulatory review the association has participated in since early 2011. The association also offered detailed comments to the 2364 US Department of Transportation, EPA, and Small Business Administration

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • India plans major infrastucture investment
    April 5, 2012
    India says it turned its Commonwealth Games into a world-class success, and now it aims to do the same with its infrastructure. Patrick Smith reports On October, 2010 India put itself on the world stage, and disaster appeared to loom as a catalogue of problems dogged its biggest ever sporting event. Costing nearly US$2 billion to stage, the most expensive Commonwealth Games ever were, according to some, in doubt. After years of planning some projects were incomplete, there were health scares and a br
    Read More
  • US$75,632 pint of beer illustrates UK drink-drive conviction cost
    February 28, 2013
    A US$75,632 (£50,000) pint of beer was being unveiled in London, England today as part of the Government’s latest THINK! campaign highlighting the impact of a drink-drive conviction. The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has calculated the personal financial cost of drink-driving for the first time, pricing it between $30,253 (£20,000) and $75,632. The calculation reflects the fines, legal costs, rise in insurance premiums and possible job losses faced by those who are convicted. The pricy pint, housed
    Read More
  • Caterpillar has a Vision that includes total project site overview
    April 5, 2016
    Caterpillar may be on its financial back foot, but a recent event showed the company has a vision far beyond this or the next financial year – David Arminas reports. Many construction machinery manufacturers have some data collection and analysis systems for their heavy equipment. For a good decade, manufacturers have been moving in this direction, first as retrofit packages on machines in the field and increasingly as standard on newer models. Caterpillar is no exception among manufacturers that are movin
    Read More
  • Better road safety reduces Europe’s casualty figures
    October 2, 2014
    Improving road safety in the EU has resulted in a drop in the fatality rate. Official figures just released show that the number of people killed on Europe's roads fell by 8% in 2013. This follows on from the drop in fatalities of between 2011 and 2012 and Europe is on track to halve road deaths in the 2010-2020 period Figures released by the European Commission provide grounds for optimism and Antonio Avenoso, executive director of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) said, “We welcome the reductio
    Read More

Highlighted Content