President Donald Trump on Wednesday visits the UPS Hapeville Airport Hub to announce the implementation of a policy to expedite big infrastructure projects in the Atlanta area and across the United States. The president is expected to champion sweeping actions to cut red tape and remove burdensome regulations.
In Executive Order 13807, the president has directed that burdensome National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations be cut and more effective. These regulations control how the federal Government processes environmental permits but have been used to block and delay important infrastructure projects.
This is the impact on Georgia:
* The president’s action expedites the review for the I-75 lane expansion project. This infrastructure project will allow the UPS Hub in Atlanta, which is a key distribution center in the region, to make their operations more efficient by reducing congestion of commercial freight movements in and out of the transportation hub.
* The Georgia I-75 Commercial Vehicle Lane Project is a proposed project that extends from metropolitan Atlanta to Macon. Once completed, the lanes are projected to reduce delay on I-75 by 40% in 2030, according to a 2016 Cambridge Systematics study. The project adds new lane capacity to the interstate, enhancing freight mobility from the Port of Savannah and Florida, and promotes economic development along the corridor. Furthermore, accelerating this project will accommodate growth in commercial vehicle traffic in the region and supports the future Port of Savannah expansion. Prior to this rule, it took on average over 7 years to permit a highway project in the U.S. like the I-75 project. Under the new rule, this process will be cut to under 2 years.
Here is background as provided by the White House. In January 2020, Trump announced the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for NEPA. Now, the NEPA final rule is complete, and will be announced by the President. The new regulations will modernize, simplify and accelerate the environmental review process necessary to build a wide range of projects in the United States, including roads, bridges, and highways. The rule will also provide needed certainty for project sponsors and will facilitate the rebuilding of American.
This will be the president’s ninth trip to Georgia and his sixth visit to Atlanta during his administration.
