I would like to say, as an…

I would like to say, as an engineering consultant in the water/wastewater field who has worked on multiple EAs, the process by which dealing with environmental protection is not fun, is costly, but most importantly is necessary. A common phrase in engineering is “anyone can build a bridge that stands, they can pile and pile concrete until they have a structure. It takes an engineer to make a bridge that just barely stands”. Part of our jobs as engineers to make costly solutions, to trim the fat where we can. It is the job of the government to ensure that regulations ensure the protection of many things, and in this case the environment. With allowing activity to continue before a permit has been reviewed, I am greatly worried that the approach to do things as cost effective as possible, will have many projects create significant environment harm before proper restrictions can be put in place. Sustainable growth is at the forefront of any strong planning policy, and I fear that this greatly sacrifices the sustainable aspect for a small tradeoff in the growth aspect. I think the harm that this cause will far outweigh the benefits. Again, this current process is not fun, but it is necessary. Please protect our environment and please do not pass this proposal.