TESTIMONY
OF
JOHN PETER
SUAREZ
ASSISTANT
ADMINISTRATOR FOR
ENFORCEMENT
AND COMPLIANCE ASSURANCE
U.S.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
BEFORE THE
SENATE
COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
September
19, 2002
Mr. Chairman and Members of the
Committee, I am J.P Suarez, Assistant Administrator for OECA. Thank you for inviting me to appear before
you today to discuss project delivery and environmental stewardship under the
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). I understand the Committee is particularly
interested in EPA=s contribution to the environmental
streamlining called for in Section 1309 of TEA-21.
I am pleased to be here today as this
is the first time I have testified before you since my confirmation. I look forward to a productive relationship
with this Committee and to working with you as you consider reauthorization of
the TEA-21 legislation. As you know, I
am responsible for EPA=s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
program. In addition to OECA, other EPA
programs have an interest in various TEA-21 provisions, such as those related
to congestion management and air quality.
My remarks today will focus on how EPA has incorporated the provisions
of Section 1309 into the NEPA program.
EPA embraces the streamlining
provisions of Section 1309. We are
committed to working with our federal and State partners to better serve the
American people with faster yet environmentally sound, transportation decisions. We are bringing our special expertise to
bear earlier in the transportation decision-making process to improve the
quality of analysis, protect the environment, and speed project approvals. We have put new staff in key positions: we hired a manager with Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) experience for EPA=s regional NEPA office in California;
and, in Texas, another state with a large number of highway projects, the
regional office placed an EPA NEPA employee in the Texas Department of
Transportation (DOT) office. In several
key states, we are able to provide more timely and sustained assistance on
state priority projects thanks to the additional personnel funded by State DOTs
that Section 1309 allows. While it is
too early in the process to measure time savings for many of these efforts, we
are confident that we will be able to quantitatively demonstrate the value of
these investments in the near future.
Interstate Highway 69, a proposed
1600-mile across-America highway B from Mexico to our border with
Canada B is a good
example of EPA=s current
effort to expedite a specific national priority project. Three EPA regions are coordinating with the
FHWA and seven State DOTs to identify and resolve environmental issues at the
earliest possible stage. On February 22,
2002, the EPA Regions sent one set of coordinated and consistent
pre-Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) technical comments to the many highway
offices and federal agencies working on project design. The EPA regions are also providing technical
assistance to the State DOTs with geographic mapping of sensitive resources to
improve and streamline the environmental impact analyses. In fact, Arkansas estimates that in one
recent case use of GIS and early coordination cut in half the time needed to
complete the NEPA process.
While EPA has devoted considerable
energy to implementing Section 1309, we realize there needs to be more progress
before we have a truly streamlined transportation review process. Both we and our State partners recognize
that it takes an up-front investment to produce a pay-off. Initially, having all the stakeholders at
the table well ahead of the Draft EIS takes more time on the planning end. However, indications are that well-planned
projects do move faster once the environmental documentation is completed. FHWA=s statistics show that one year has
been shaved off the median time to process environmental documents for major
projects since passage of TEA-21. And,
we are encouraged that newer tools such as geographic information system
analysis are starting to have a marked impact on the speed of the environmental
analysis.
As we work more closely than ever
with FHWA and with the State DOTs, formal agreements are being cooperatively
negotiated that set the stage for future early involvement and technical
assistance on individual projects.
Within a year of TEA-21’s enactment, EPA had expanded the model process
developed with the mid-Atlantic States, FHWA and our other federal and State
partners to streamline the environmental review of transportation
projects. The Mid-Atlantic
Transportation and Environment Process, also known as the MATE Process,
resulted in a formal agreement that commits all parties to a timely,
cost-effective, and environmentally sound transportation project development
process. This agreement is supported by
specific project development and agreement steps and specified input and
concurrence points to avoid future gridlock.
The mid-Atlantic States are funding four EPA positions through
streamlining agreements between EPA and the individual States.
In addition to the MATE process in
the Mid-Atlantic, other EPA regional offices have signed a variety of
streamlining agreements tailored to the needs of individual States. For example, last year EPA and the California
DOT (CALTRANS) signed an MOU for the review of California=s priority
transportation projects. TEA-21
substantially increased the number of transportation projects in California,
and through this agreement CALTRANS ensures increased EPA early involvement in
project planning and development. Early
involvement reduces delays at the later stages of project review resulting from
interagency disagreements. It also
ensures that critical resource issues are identified and analyzed, which can
reduce the time lost to third-party litigation on the adequacy of the NEPA
documentation. This MOU followed a July
2000 agreement (the Mare Island Accord) which has resulted in improvements such
as joint training of EPA and CALTRANS staff.
Joint training has long-term benefits by ensuring that the staff in both
agencies have a shared understanding of each agency=s
requirements and the analytical processes that are needed to ensure a review
that will meet all statutory and regulatory requirements.
Another outgrowth of the Mare Island
Accord is a pilot project to which CALTRANS, EPA, FHWA and the Merced County
Association of Governments have committed staff and funding. The Merced Partnership for Integrated
Planning will update the STET regional transportation plan taking into account
environmental requirements; this project is supported with a geographic
information system analysis and is intended to become the model for regional
transportation planning California-wide.
In Oregon, EPA and the State have
formally agreed to prescribe and implement a specific process for resource
agency involvement and streamlining.
And, after the Washington State Legislature passed its Environmental
Permit Streamlining Act last year, EPA became an active partner in developing
and implementing streamlined processes in that State. Additionally, EPA is serving as a cooperating agency with the
Kansas DOT on the U.S. 59 project and on the I-70 Second Tier studies in
Missouri. EPA and the Minnesota DOT are
working under an MOU to streamline the approval process for the 169 Trunk
Highway.
Our stronger relationship with the
States is exemplified by our participation in streamlining discussions at many
of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
(AASHTO) Planning and Environment Committee meetings. We greatly appreciate the State association=s
invitation to meet and their willingness to discuss our experiences with
streamlining. EPA certainly benefits
from hearing directly from State DOTs about their successes and frustrations in
dealing with us! This level of direct
discussion with AASHTO members has come about since the passage of TEA-21, and
we believe results from Congress= emphasis on streamlining. EPA also is participating in the development
of AASHTO=s Center
for Environmental Excellence. This
Center holds great potential for sharing expertise across agency and state
boundaries on a quick-turn-around basis, another result of the improved collaboration streamlining has engendered.
One very encouraging sign EPA has
noted since the passage of TEA-21 fours years ago is the growing endorsement of
environmental stewardship by the State DOTs.
Half of our State DOT partners are formally supporting AASHTO=s
Environmental Stewardship Demonstration Program. This program has tremendous potential from an environmental,
transportation and financial perspective.
New York State, for example, has found that by mulching land adjacent
to highways, the state saves mowing
costs while preventing stream damage from runoff. The more we can build environmental considerations into all
aspects of transportation planning and delivery, the better we will serve the
American public by providing environmentally sound transportation solutions.
At the national level, EPA has taken
a number of steps to promote streamlining since the passage of Section
1309. A National MOU on Environmental
Streamlining set the stage for a number of specific initiatives, including EPA=s early
involvement in the planning and scoping of projects and EPA=s active
participation in streamlining pilots.
EPA participates in FHWA=s streamlining committee, and is
working with FHWA to develop guidance and training on streamlining. We have helped train federal resource
agencies on drafting streamlining MOUs with State DOTs to strengthen relationships
in the field and improve project management.
We continue to encourage our regional offices, where most NEPA reviews
are done, to work with their states to obtain funding for positions and
technical support. These resources are
providing intensive expedited attention to State priority transportation
projects.
EPA is also working with FHWA in its
effort to develop training for federal agencies and State DOTs on Alternative
Dispute Resolution. This training,
expected to start next Spring, will ensure that disagreements during the
project review process can be identified and swiftly resolved.
In conclusion, I would like to
endorse the critical role NEPA plays in coordinating environmental
requirements. NEPA has served the
American public well for 30 years by providing full disclosure of the impacts
of major federal actions and requiring an examination of alternative ways to
achieve a project=s purpose.
EPA is committed to streamlining as the way to make NEPA even more
effective through a more efficient and timely process.
Thank you for the opportunity to
testify today. I would like to work
with you as you continue to promote environmental stewardship and
streamlining. These efforts are good for
the environment and the economy, and they allow EPA to focus our resources
where we can achieve the best results.
I look forward to responding to any
questions you may have.