On August 18, Alston & Bird Construction & Government Contracts partner Chris Roux was quoted in the Law360 article “Trump Infrastructure Order Shows Strategy Without Clear Plan.” The article discusses the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s August 15 Executive Order that was intended to push the government to complete environmental reviews to approve or deny major infrastructure projects within a two-year time frame, on average. The Executive Order also repeals an order signed by President Barack Obama in 2015 that required federal agencies and developers to factor in climate change when designing and building infrastructure.
According to Chris Roux, the Executive Order will encourage more private investment in U.S. infrastructure by shortening project review deadlines. He explains that “one of the risks or costs that private investors are most concerned about is the time that it takes to get environmental permits for infrastructure projects. Time is money, and investors can spend millions of dollars in developing all of the elements necessary for a successful public-private partnership project. If permitting is delayed, it can lead to a further significant increase in costs. To the extent that we can have meaningful environmental review within reasonable time constraints, it will help encourage this investment.”
To learn more about Chris Roux’s comments on the August 15 Executive Order, click here.