pauldun170
Diamond Member
It can be assumed that it must be tossed out because Obama's fingerprints are on it and that donors are complaining .
First option is automatically off the table since Trump and is Republicans friends are trying to get rid of all that stuff with "Climate Change" written on the cover.The rule gave federal agencies three options to flood-proof new infrastructure projects. They could use the best available climate change science; they could require that standard projects like roads and railways be built two feet a....
Trump to Roll Back Obama’s Flood Standards for Infrastructure
President Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday to roll back standards that demanded the federal government account for climate change and sea-level rise when building new infrastructure, the White House confirmed.
The move is the latest effort by the Trump administration to unravel former President Barack Obama’s climate change agenda. It comes as Mr. Trump meets with top aides in New York to discuss plans for a sweeping infrastructure package, an effort that has taken a back seat in Congress to issues like health care.
Building trade groups and Republican lawmakers had criticized the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard, established by Mr. Obama in an executive order in 2015, as costly and overly burdensome.
But environmental activists, floodplain managers and some conservatives had urged the Trump administration to preserve the rule, arguing that it protected critical infrastructure and taxpayer dollars by ensuring new projects in areas prone to flooding were safeguarded.
“The Trump administration’s decision to overturn this is a disaster for taxpayers and the environment,” said Eli Lehrer, president of the R Street Institute, a free-market think tank in Washington. He described the Obama order as a common-sense measure to prevent taxpayer dollars from being sunk into projects threatened by flooding.
The rule gave federal agencies three options to flood-proof new infrastructure projects. They could use the best available climate change science; they could require that standard projects like roads and railways be built two feet above the national 100-year flood elevation standard and critical buildings like hospitals be built three feet higher; or they could require infrastructure be built to at least the 500-year floodplain. The order did not regulate private development.
In announcing the standards, the Obama administration cited a National Climate Assessment finding that more than $1 trillion worth of property and structures in the United States are at risk of inundation if sea levels rise two feet above current levels, something that scientists believe could happen by 2050.
A White House official said that Mr. Trump’s executive order would reinstate the prior flood management standard, issued by President Jimmy Carter in 1977, but that it would not prohibit state and local agencies from using more stringent standards if they chose.
Mr. Trump was expected to participate in a discussion on infrastructure on Tuesday and make an announcement at 3:45 p.m.
The administration’s 2018 budget request called for $200 billion in direct federal spending on infrastructure aimed at generating $1 trillion in private-sector investment to build and strengthen roads, bridges and other projects.
Representative Ralph Abraham of Louisiana, a Republican who sponsored legislation that would have blocked Mr. Obama’s flood standard, said he was thrilled by Mr. Trump’s decision. He acknowledged that Louisiana was inundated with catastrophic flooding last year, but called it an isolated event. The bigger threat, he said, is from costly regulations.
He estimated the standards would have increased the cost of a new home by 25 to 30 percent because most of the state would be put in a federal floodplain.
“We had more than our share of tragedy down here with the water, but we already have problems meeting requirements,” Mr. Abraham said. “The new plan would make it so costly for my Louisiana residents.”
The Obama administration had estimated the more stringent standards would increase construction costs between 0.25 and 1.25 percent, but save taxpayers money in the long run.
Representative Carlos Curbelo, a Republican of Florida who has called for addressing the threat posed by climate change, criticized Mr. Trump’s decision.
“When you’re on the front lines like South Florida, we know the importance of having more resilient building codes to protect our infrastructure, especially when taxpayer dollars are used,” he said in a statement. “This Executive Order is not fiscally conservative. It’s irresponsible and it will lead to taxpayer dollars being wasted on projects that may not be built to endure the flooding we are already seeing and know is only going to get worse.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/climate/flooding-infrastructure-climate-change-trump-obama.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will revoke an Obama-era executive order on Tuesday that required strict building standards for government-funded projects to reduce exposure to increased flooding from sea level rise, sources said.
Trump will sign his executive order this afternoon to revoke the standards as part of his administration's plan to "streamline the current process" for infrastructure projects, a government official said.
The official said the order will not prohibit state and local agencies from using a more stringent standard if they choose.
Separately a White House spokesperson said on Tuesday afternoon that the order would set a two-year goal for completing permits needed on major infrastructure plans, and create a "one Federal decision" protocol for big projects. The White House did not provide any more details on the coming executive order.
The Trump administration has complained that it takes too much time to get permits and approvals for construction projects. The administration has issued dozens of rules and orders to reverse or rescind Obama-era regulations addressing climate change and its consequences such as rising sea levels and more severe storms.
The Obama-era standard required that builders factor in scientific projections for how climate change could affect flooding in a certain area and ensure projects can withstand rising sea levels and stronger downpours.
Obama required all federal agencies apply the standard to public infrastructure projects from housing to highways.
It raised base flood levels to a higher vertical elevation to "address current and future flood risk and ensure that projects funded with taxpayer dollars last as long as intended," according to a 2015 Treasury Department presentation on the order. U.S. officials have estimated that the United States suffered $260 billion in flood related damages between 1980 and 2013.
Rafael Lemaitre, former director of public affairs at FEMA who worked on the Obama-era order, said Trump is undoing "the most significant action taken in a generation" to safeguard U.S. infrastructure.
"Eliminating this requirement is self-defeating; we can either build smarter now, or put taxpayers on the hook to pay exponentially more when it floods. And it will," he said.
Flood policy expert Eli Lehrer, president of the libertarian R Street Institute who has been critical of many other Obama initiatives, agreed that revoking this order will end up costing taxpayers money.
"The Trump administration is acting very rashly in part out of the desire to undo a climate measure under the Obama administration," he said. "This is an enormous mistake that is disastrous for taxpayers. The rule would have saved billions of dollars over time."
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-infrastructure-idUSKCN1AV1ZI
