Psalm 7:15,16 He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made. The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head.
They’ve waited for this day. Billions of dollars potentially at their disposal. But the environmentalists may not be able to use it because of something they themselves created: NEPA.
The projects for the “stimulus package” need to be implemented quickly or they can’t exactly meet the goal to reduce the length and depth of this recession; however, the projects to build windmills or solar panels and such would require years to fulfill the siting and zoning requirements, not to mention lawsuits, of the National Environmental Protection Act.
Governor Schwarzeneggar has already discovered this. Tuesday he asked Obama for $44 billion in transportation, energy and water projects but also requested action to “waive or greatly streamline National Environmental Protection Act requirements consistent with our statutory proposals to modify the California Environment Quality Act for transportation projects.”
Will the liberals’ environmental base sit idly by and let huge transportation and energy projects go forth without extensive environmental review? But how can they sell projects that won’t break ground for years without forsaking NEPA requirements? Let the fun begin.
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This is why they're asking for projects in Iowa, at least, that are “shovel ready”, that is, projects that have been in the works for several years already, that have passed all the myriad of regulatory hurdles and review processes, and which can now be implemented in short order. The plan is NOT to use teh economic stimulus for “new” projects, but for existing projects that can go forward with minimal delay. Obviously the hope is that more money will be forthcoming for “new” projects.