The House passed a bill on Thursday that supporters say will speed up permitting decisions for water storage projects like dams and reservoirs in drought-stricken areas of the United States.
GOP supporters of the bill say it's a necessary step toward alleviating droughts and overhauling the federal permitting process.
But most Democrats opposed the legislation, calling it a “sham infrastructure bill” that took aim at federal environmental rules.
The legislation, from Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), passed on a 233-180 vote.
“Droughts are nature’s fault, they happen, but water shortages are our fault,” McClintock said.
“We will not solve our shortages until we build more reservoirs, and we cannot build more reservoirs until we overhaul the laws that have made their construction endlessly time-consuming and ultimately cost-prohibitive.”
More:
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/339050-house-passes-bill-to-speed-permitting-for-dams-reservoirsOf course the Dems don't like it.
