News Archive 2005

Culture of inertia is hurting our infrastructure
Phillip Bayne
The Times Record Herald
July 12, 2005

If pragmatic action isn't taken soon to resolve differences over public works projects, our economy could be seriously harmed. The federal government, not just New York and other states finding themselves unable to break the gridlock over infrastructure improvements, must do more to counter this very real danger.

Anyone who thinks this country is serious about building large public works projects should consider how difficult it is to get anything built, whether it's a highway or public transit improvement, an electricity transmission system, or a new power plant. No matter how worthwhile the project and how many construction job and permanent new jobs it will create, when militant dissent builds, we too often back down.

This culture of inertia has taken hold, not only in New York, but in many other places around the United States. All too often, large projects, especially infrastructure improvements, have been held up or abandoned when there's a conflict.

Major construction, however, contributes to economic growth. The nation is entitled to the benefits that come with new public works. We live in a period of murderous trade competition and sagging confidence in the ability of our own industries and financial institutions. More than ever, we need political leadership to put some muscle into the economy. The last thing we can afford is paralysis.

The scandalous neglect of our aging transportation infrastructure is a prime example. Most Americans would agree that our highways, public transit, airports, ports and waterways are not adequate for our needs.

Inadequate funding is the greatest impediment to improving highways and public transit systems. But also to blame are overly burdensome government regulations and business-bashing groups that have stopped such projects as the Hudson River Expressway, the Long Island Sound Crossing and highways in Albany, Buffalo and other cities.

Inertia also affects the energy sector. Despite concerns about U.S. energy security, in recent years there has been a virtual hiatus in construction of large power plants, natural gas pipelines, oil refineries and new transition lines.

One example: There hasn't been an order for a new nuclear plant that's been completed since 1973. And that has left us increasingly exposed to high oil and natural gas prices and the threat of supply disruptions. Countries in Europe and Asia, meanwhile, are building nuclear power plants based on U.S. reactor designs, because they see nuclear power as the only way to provide large amounts of electricity without contributing to global warming.

To help solve this crisis, the U.S. government has adopted regulatory changes that would enable nuclear plants to be built in six years instead of the 10 years or more that it took to complete plants in the 1970s and 1980s. Now companies will be able to obtain a combined construction and operating license in three years or less. This combined license should reduce uncertainty in terms of potential for delays in bringing a plant into operation after a substantial amount of capital has been invested.

Nonetheless, Wall Street is still worried about the possibility that anti-nuclear activists might find a way to intervene in the licensing process and cause capital and interest costs to rise during plant construction. Congress needs to take this into account and provide loan guarantees and other risk insurance for construction of the first few nuclear plants.

The danger here is that if nothing is done to help bring nuclear power back, we will wind up relying increasingly on fossil fuels that pollute the air and pour greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Yet there is a legacy in the United States of working out our differences. Successful resolution of conflicts between industries and environmental groups make it clear that conflict is neither the right nor the necessary way. Where both sides recognize that the country's greatest intellectual asset is technological innovation, industries and environmental groups benefit- and so do the rest of us.

Now, more than ever, we must work to keep America strong. It won't happen if we fail to improve our infrastructure or run away from projects that require an aggressive effort and patience to complete. Only then can we build a stable economy, achieve our environmental aspirations and improve U.S. energy security.

Phillip Bayne of Poughkeepsie is retired. He is a past president of the New York Power Authority.

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