OFFICIALS HOPING TO OVERCOME RED TAPE FOR BROWNSVILLE'S FOURTH BRIDGE AT FLOR DE MAYO

 

Near Flor de Mayo Bridge location in Brownsville

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (Border Report) — A bipartisan delegation of Texas lawmakers is so fed up with waiting for presidential permitting approval for new international bridges in South Texas, that it has reached out to the State Department for help to hasten the regulatory process.

Republican U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, along with Democratic U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar, Vicente Gonzalez, and Republican Reps. Monica De La Cruz and Tony Gonzales on Tuesday sent Secretary of State Antony Blinken a letter urging him to bypass environmental regulations that require a full environmental assessment before his agency issues a recommendation to the White House on whether or not to issue presidential permits for these three new international bridges:

• The Flor de Mayo International Bridge in Brownsville.
• The 4/5 Bridge in Rio Bravo, southeast of Laredo, Texas.
• The Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge in Eagle Pass, Texas.

They also want to expand the World Trade Bridge in Laredo, which is the largest inland port for commercial trucks in the United States.

“These cross-border bridges will expand such trade, creating vital jobs and economic opportunities in the Texas border region,” they wrote. “Infrastructure connections between Texas and Mexico play an essential part in our state’s and our nation’s economy.”

“Our nation depends on South Texas’s infrastructure and labor to successfully conduct trade with Mexico, one of our largest trading partners. These bridge projects are needlessly being put on hold while our communities and country continue to be negatively impacted,” Gonzalez said in a statement Thursday.

Gonzalez represents Texas’ 34th Congressional District, which would include the location for the new Flor de Mayo International Bridge.

“My colleagues and I agree that environmental studies are an important measure to mitigate negative impacts on our local ecosystems.

However, there are other processes available that can provide a thorough environmental review without further delaying vital projects. 

In my district alone, the Flor de Mayo International Bridge Project has been delayed for years. We must eliminate bureaucratic red tape to ensure that South Texas’s infrastructure can meet the demand of trade and tourism for decades to come,” he said.

The State Department is the agency that recommends to the White House whether a new international bridge is warranted and in the best foreign-policy interests of the United States.

But the lawmakers point out that environmental regulatory requirements have “needlessly” delayed these projects. And they are asking for special permission to go forward as the environmental reviews are being done.

Plans “have been needlessly delayed because the State Department, after consultation with White House staff at the National Security Council and the Council on Environmental Quality, has told project sponsors that they must first complete a lengthy environmental assessment before a recommendation will be given. 

This additional bureaucratic hurdle should be eliminated because it is both unnecessary and ignores the positive cultural and economic impacts that make these projects in our foreign policy interest.