By Ainsley Holyfield, Office of U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson The House Natural Resources Committee has passed H.R. 3133 the Streamlining Environmental Approvals Act of 2017, known as the SEA Act). The SEA Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson (LA-04) in June of last year, reduces duplicative government regulations in the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act while maintaining marine mammal protections and setting firm permitting deadlines for coastal initiatives. “Washington bureaucrats should never have the authority to halt coastal initiatives based on their own politically biased agendas," said Johnson, a member of First Baptist Church, Bossier City. "Yet many permit approvals are prolonged, including coastal restoration efforts and critical naval operations, specifically for that reason. The SEA Act takes important steps to implement strict deadlines for agencies while maintaining appropriate permitting standards, allowing projects to move forward only if they meet the highest requirements. I applaud the Natural Resources Committee for recognizing the importance of this commonsense legislation and my colleagues for moving it forward.” Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop released the … [Read more...]