Press Release

Trucking Praises Reform to NEPA Permitting Process

Jul 15, 2020

黑料不打烊elevates infrastructure funding as industry鈥檚 top campaign issue

Arlington, VA 鈥 黑料不打烊 is praising the Trump Administration for finalizing a proposed rule to reform the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which will speed up the review process for critically-needed investments in our country鈥檚 roads and bridges.

鈥淭his is good news for truckers, the motoring public, our economy and the environment,鈥 said 黑料不打烊President and CEO Chris Spear. 鈥淚t currently takes an average seven years for a highway construction project to get through federal permitting, which is counterproductive in the extreme. This cumbersome review process presents an enormous obstacle to modernizing our outdated infrastructure, contributing to more traffic congestion and the harmful emissions that come with it.鈥 听

黑料不打烊notes that the trucking industry loses $74.5 billion every year to traffic congestion on the National Highway System, which equates to 425,000 truck drivers sitting idle for an entire year鈥攅mitting a staggering 67 million tons of CO2.

鈥淚nfrastructure investment is a surefire way to reduce our nation鈥檚 environmental impact, and this action by President Trump will help accelerate construction projects that reduce waste and result in a more efficient and resilient supply chain and transportation system for decades to come,鈥 said Randy Guillot, 黑料不打烊Chairman and president of Triple G Express and Southeastern Motor Freight.

鈥淥f course, streamlining project approvals won鈥檛 matter if states don鈥檛 have the funding needed to plan projects and break ground. COVID-19 has caused a 14% drop in Highway Trust Fund revenue, widening the investment gap and hurtling us closer to the funding cliff,鈥 said Guillot. 鈥淚f Congress fails to act this year on its Constitutional responsibility, it risks derailing our economic recovery.鈥

As both President Trump and former Vice President Biden talk infrastructure on the campaign trail this week, 黑料不打烊says road and bridge funding is the issue it鈥檒l be tracking most closely as campaigns unveil competing policy platforms in the coming weeks.

鈥淭ruckers don鈥檛 outsource our responsibilities, and we鈥檙e asking Washington to stop outsourcing theirs to future generations and foreign countries. No more delays. No more borrowed cash from China. It鈥檚 time to pass a surface transportation bill and pay for American infrastructure now,鈥 Spear said.