The future of the Northeast rail corridor hangs on the timely construction of a new tunnel under the Hudson River connecting New York City and New Jersey. The current tunnel is 107 years old and was badly damaged by Superstorm Sandy. The Gateway Project would construct the new tunnel and rehabilitate the current one, and last week the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was published 14 months after review began. The entire review process is scheduled to be completed within two years — a standard that Common Good set with its publication “Two Years, Not Ten Years: Redesigning Infrastructure Approvals.”
The government agencies involved deserve great credit for creating a new model for timely environmental review of a complex infrastructure project. Those agencies include the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration, and NJ Transit. The Draft EIS is extremely thorough: 918 pages plus 869 pages of appendices. And it demonstrates that compressing the time required for environmental review and permitting of major projects, which often takes 10 years or more, need not compromise thoroughness.
“With a $4 trillion infrastructure backlog, our nation cannot afford unnecessary delays,” said Philip K. Howard, Chair of Common Good. “The Draft Environmental Impact Statement for The Gateway Project sets an important standard for timeliness — one that could pave the way for an infrastructure revival.”
“Two Years, Not Ten Years” found that red tape delays for infrastructure more than double the cost of large projects and harm the environment by prolonging pollution. A subsequent Common Good report, “Billions for Red Tape,” found that improved permitting for The Gateway Project could save taxpayers billions and avoid significant environmental harm. That report — issued in early May 2016, the same month in which the notice of intent was filed for The Gateway Project — underscored the need to speed up the review process.
