A January 24 Executive Order from the White House calls expedited environmental reviews of infrastructure projects subject to federal review or approval. To qualify for an expedited review, the project must qualify as “high priority” based on review by the Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Evaluation criteria include “importance to the general welfare, value to the Nation, environmental benefits, and such other factors as the Chairman deems relevant.” Once a project is identified as high priority, the CEQ Chairman is tasked with coordinating efforts with the reviewing agencies to ensure it is given the highest priority and meets all applicable deadlines.
Drinking or waste water infrastructure projects are not specifically named as examples that could qualify for expedited reviews under the Executive Order. However, it does appear as if such projects could easily qualify under the listed evaluation criteria.