Trump announces plan to accelerate infrastructure projects in Atlanta

Critics of the law, including chemical companies and energy companies, say the process is often too cumbersome and that opponents can delay projects for years in court, raising costs or blocking them entirely.

The lawsuits recently slowed down the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, two projects the President supported.

New rules

Trump’s changes would shorten most of the environmental review process to less than two years and restrict how federal agencies can take climate change into account when approving new projects.

“Together we are reclaiming the proud heritage of the United States as a nation of builders and a nation that can do things,” said Trump, a developer.

Before his visit, critics of the president framed him as blind to the nation’s racial disparities, particularly on environmental issues.

Large infrastructure projects are often proposed for neighborhoods where property values ​​are low, said Neill Herring, lobbyist for the Georgia Sierra Club.

“This is a federal law that protects the neighborhood from everyone like Buckhead,” said Herring. “Removing that protection is criminal, particularly given the current dialogue on race in this country.”

State Senator Nikema Williams, head of the Georgia Democratic Party, criticized Trump for visiting Atlanta to announce a campaign pledge instead of speaking to people with COVID-19.

“We know this is just another attempt to make good on its broken promises as our highways continue to crumble and the country prepares for COVID-19’s strong economic impact,” Williams told reporters.

Political maneuvers

Trump’s first appearance in Atlanta since March triggered political maneuvers by Republicans eager to share his attention, and an awkward scene on the track between rival Georgia Republican Party factions backing U.S. Rep. Doug Collins and Senator Kelly Loeffler.

Governor Brian Kemp shared what seemed like polite but not overly friendly words with Collins, who is running for the United States Senate against Loeffler, the governor’s chosen selection for the seat.

When Trump left Air Force One, he shared a warm greeting with Kemp and Collins, who were near the vehicle the President was waiting for. Collins’ interaction with Loeffler, who followed the President off the plane after flying with him from Washington, was shorter and quicker.

Still, Trump betrayed little about which candidate he supports in the November special election.

He called Loeffler “a good person, a good woman,” adding that “she has supported me so much.” As for Collins, Trump framed him as “an incredible spokesperson and an incredible man and friend.”

Trump overlooked the crack he opened with Kemp in April, when the president criticized his ally for prematurely reversing coronavirus restrictions in Georgia.

“You have done a great job in all aspects of this incredible state, and I have always been there for you,” Trump told the governor, before teasing him for calling too much.

The president’s visit came when recent polls showed him side by side with his Democratic rival Joe Biden in Georgia. Earlier on Wednesday, Biden criticized the Republican “total and absolute failure” to lead the country and combat the spread of the coronavirus.

“The mismanagement of this administration has left working families and small business owners in the cold while enduring the worst economic losses the country has faced in modern memory,” Biden said in a statement.

Local impact

Earlier in the day, the White House highlighted the effect that changes to the National Environmental Policy Act would have on a major pending infrastructure project in Georgia: the $ 2 billion expansion of I-75. A 2017 state audit questioned whether the project, which would add truck lanes along the busy corridor between McDonough and Macon, was necessary in the first place, but advocates say it would speed up traffic to and from the Port of Savannah.

Environmentalists see the related project to deepen the port in Savannah from 42 to 47 feet as an example of the success of the current environmental process.

Dredging work would have threatened nearby wetlands, damaged local drinking water and endangered local sturgeon, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. But finally an agreement was reached to ensure the monitoring of water quality and preserve wetlands.

Former Republican Rep. Jack Kingston, whose Savannah-based House district included the port, saw things differently. He said environmental groups “used and abused” the process to lengthen the project’s timeline based on details and technicalities.

“It only took forever,” said Kingston, a Trump substitute who has lobbied on behalf of the Georgia Port Authority since leaving Congress. “Every time we came up with something that everyone had previously agreed on, they changed their minds and wanted something else.”

Trump criticized those delays in his speech before bragging about his administration’s approval of new dredging funds.