The Duchesne County Commission is sending a message to Congress on the need for permitting reform as they announce their endorsement of the SPEED Act and any similar permitting reform legislation. The SPEED Act stands for Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development. “The stakes could not be higher – and the data bears that out,” shares Commissioner Greg Miles. “Large infrastructure projects typically spend four to five years navigating the federal permitting process before a single shovel breaks ground – and during that time, construction costs rise an average of 24 to 30 percent due to inflation alone. For counties, delay is not an abstraction. It is a bridge that stays unsafe longer than it should, a water system that goes unrepaired, a housing project that never gets built. We are not asking to bypass environmental protections – we are asking for a process that works as hard for communities as the people who serve them do. When counties are formally included as cooperating agencies in federal environmental reviews from the start, projects move faster, decisions are better informed, and taxpayer dollars go further.” Duchesne County maintains over 1,100 miles of Class B roads, which is 86% of total road miles in the county, and maintains 49 bridges, which is 67% of all bridges in Duchesne County. The entire message from the Duchesne County Commission is shared on BasinNow.com.
Entire Message To Congress From Duchesne County Commission:
Counties maintain nearly 50 percent of America’s roads and bridges. Duchesne County maintains over 1,100 miles of Class B roads (86% of total road miles in the county). Duchesne County maintains 49 bridges (67% of all bridges in the county). Yet outdated, lengthy, and burdensome federal permitting processes mean that counties such as ours experience higher project costs, delayed safety improvements on roads, bridges, and water systems, and lost economic development opportunities. In our county, Special Service District #2 has worked for years in the permitting process to be able to make changes in alignment and grade to the Gate Canyon Road to make it safer for the traveling public. The Rural Utah Infrastructure Coalition has faced a steeper uphill climb in seeking approval for the Uinta Basin Railway – a common carrier railway that will enhance transportation opportunities in the Basin. Rural counties like ours are especially affected, given we may lack the staffing or technical capacity to navigate complex, multi-year federal reviews. That’s why we’re calling on Congress to pass commonsense permitting reforms now, through the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act (H.R. 4776), led by U.S. House Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine). The National Association of Counties and Duchesne County have endorsed the SPEED Act and would support similar permitting reform legislation, provided that counties are recognized as cooperating agencies in the permitting process. Securing a federal permit is an essential step for the construction of our critical infrastructure including highways and bridges, power plants, transmission lines, and housing developments especially if the project uses federal funds. Federal permits also provide protection for the environment and federally owned land. There are multiple federal statutes that require federal permits for projects, such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Clean Water Act. Yet the permitting processes have gone largely unchanged for decades. The reforms proposed in the SPEED Act would strengthen county involvement in the federal environmental review process and ensure that counties face fewer costly delays during infrastructure, land management planning, housing, and broadband projects. Through our partnership with the National Association of Counties, we secured language in the bill that guarantees counties a seat at the table during NEPA reviews by codifying counties as cooperating agencies. This language is essential to our county, as multiple federal agencies published interim final rules updating their internal NEPA guidance that rescinded counties as cooperating agencies last summer. The stakes could not be higher – and the data bears that out. Large infrastructure projects typically spend four to five years navigating the federal permitting process before a single shovel breaks ground – and during that time, construction costs rise an average of 24 to 30 percent due to inflation alone. For counties, delay is not an abstraction. It is a bridge that stays unsafe longer than it should, a water system that goes unrepaired, a housing project that never gets built. We are not asking to bypass environmental protections – we are asking for a process that works as hard for communities as the people who serve them do. When counties are formally included as cooperating agencies in federal environmental reviews from the start, projects move faster, decisions are better informed, and taxpayer dollars go further. That is not a partisan argument. It is a practical one. As Congress considers permitting reform, we will continue to work with counties across the country to codify into federal law our role alongside intergovernmental partners to ensure permitting reforms work on the ground, protect local authority, and deliver results for residents. We urge Congress to act now.
