The Claim

Expedited a variety of crucial infrastructure projects by slashing red tape, including the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant in San Diego and the I-40 highway in North Carolina.

The Claim, Unpacked

What is literally being asserted?

That the Trump administration accelerated multiple infrastructure projects by eliminating regulatory barriers, and it offers two specific examples: (1) the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) in San Diego, and (2) the Interstate 40 highway in North Carolina. The phrase “slashing red tape” implies that regulatory or permitting requirements were the primary obstacle and that the administration removed them.

What is being implied but not asserted?

That these projects were stalled by excessive regulation, that the Trump administration’s deregulatory actions were the decisive factor in accelerating them, and that “slashing red tape” was the primary mechanism. The audience is meant to infer that environmental regulations or permitting requirements were the bottleneck, and that the administration’s willingness to cut through them delivered results where prior administrations could not. Placing this in the “ENERGY DOMINANCE” section implies these are energy-related infrastructure wins, though a wastewater treatment plant and hurricane highway repair are not energy projects.

What is conspicuously absent?

That the SBIWTP project was funded through $600+ million in bipartisan congressional appropriations spanning multiple years (2019-2024), with a $42.4 million design-build contract awarded under the Biden administration in August 2024 and a groundbreaking ceremony held in October 2024. That the I-40 repair was necessitated by Hurricane Helene (September 2024) and was already funded with approximately $850 million in Biden-era FHWA Emergency Relief allocations before Trump took office. That emergency highway repairs are automatically categorically excluded from NEPA review under existing regulations (23 CFR 771.117) that predate the Trump administration. That the “expedited” I-40 executive order (EO 14181, Section 5) directs agencies to “expedite roadway clearance or rebuilding” but does not actually eliminate any permits, despite Trump’s verbal claim of “no permitting, just get it done.” That the specific SBIWTP “100-day” acceleration was a temporary chemical treatment enhancement of existing infrastructure, not the permanent expansion project.

Evidence Assessment

Established Facts

The South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant rehabilitation and expansion is a $600+ million project funded through bipartisan congressional appropriations spanning multiple administrations. The San Diego congressional delegation secured $300 million through the 2020 USMCA Implementation Act. Congress approved an additional $250 million in the continuing resolution signed by President Biden in December 2024. The USIBWC awarded a $42.4 million progressive design-build contract to PCL Construction in August 2024, and a project launch ceremony was held October 29, 2024 — all before the Trump administration took office. The full project aims to double treatment capacity from 25 MGD to 50 MGD over approximately five years. ¹

The Trump EPA fast-tracked a 10 MGD interim expansion of the SBIWTP, completed in 100 days (May 20 to August 28, 2025) versus an original estimate of two years. This expansion increased capacity from 25 MGD to 35 MGD. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin personally visited San Diego in April 2025, and the project was announced as part of a broader Memorandum of Understanding signed in Mexico City on July 24, 2025. The EPA described the acceleration as using “expedited contracting and procurement” and “innovative design and construction techniques.” ²

Hurricane Helene severely damaged a four-mile stretch of I-40 in the Pigeon River Gorge, North Carolina, in September 2024. The Biden administration allocated approximately $850 million in FHWA Emergency Relief funding for North Carolina highway repairs in October-December 2024, including $100 million in immediate “quick release” funds. NCDOT reopened I-40 with one lane in each direction on March 1, 2025 — approximately five weeks after the Trump administration took office. ³

Executive Order 14181, Section 5 (signed January 24, 2025), directed federal agencies to “expedite roadway clearance or rebuilding, including the section of Interstate 40 in North Carolina that remains closed.” The actual legal text of the order directs agencies to take “all necessary and appropriate measures” to expedite — it does not eliminate permitting requirements. Trump verbally described the order as “no permitting, just get it done,” but this rhetoric is not reflected in the binding language of the executive order. ⁴

The Trump administration expedited USFS permitting for rock extraction from Pisgah National Forest for I-40 reconstruction. FHWA and the U.S. Forest Service completed a special use permit allowing NCDOT to extract rock from seven sites within 1-3 miles of the reconstruction zone, versus sourcing materials from 20-50 miles away. This process, which typically takes six months, was completed in approximately one month. Secretary Duffy announced this in February 2025. ⁵

Strong Inferences

The 10 MGD SBIWTP expansion was achieved through chemical treatment enhancement of existing primary tanks, not new treatment infrastructure. KPBS reporting confirmed that the IBWC used “extra chemicals to treat the additional gallons in the plant’s primary tanks, where solids are removed.” The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board approved a cease and desist order allowing the IBWC to temporarily exceed its 25 MGD permit limits. Former IBWC Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner described this as an intermediate solution: “while they’re building the full plant, which is several years out, that will allow for communities not having to wait that long.” ⁶

Under existing FHWA regulations (23 CFR 771.117(c)(9)(i)), emergency highway repairs after a declared disaster are automatically categorically excluded from NEPA review. This categorical exclusion predates the Trump administration by decades. Emergency repair work within the first 270 days of a disaster is eligible for 100% federal share without prior FHWA approval. The I-40 emergency repair work that enabled the March 2025 partial reopening was eligible for this categorical exclusion regardless of any Trump executive action. ⁷

The Trump administration allocated an additional $1.15 billion in FHWA Emergency Relief funding for North Carolina in September 2025 — the largest single ER allocation to a single state in DOT history. Combined with Biden-era allocations, total ER funding for North Carolina Helene repairs reached approximately $2 billion. The full I-40 reconstruction is expected to cost approximately $1.3 billion with completion projected for late 2028. ⁸

The “two years to 100 days” framing of the SBIWTP expansion conflates a temporary chemical treatment enhancement with the permanent infrastructure project. The 10 MGD expansion that was completed in 100 days was a stopgap measure using additional chemicals in existing tanks, not the construction of new treatment capacity. The actual rehabilitation and expansion project — the $600 million PCL Construction contract for permanent doubling of capacity — remains on its original multi-year timeline. The “two-year” benchmark appears to be the estimate for the 10 MGD component under standard procurement, not for the full project. ⁹

The specific “red tape” that was “slashed” for each project is different from what the claim implies. For the SBIWTP, the acceleration involved expedited procurement and a regulatory accommodation (the cease and desist order allowing temporary exceedance of permit limits) — not the elimination of environmental regulations. For I-40, the genuine expediting was the Forest Service material extraction permit (six months to one month), not the elimination of NEPA review, which was already categorically excluded for emergency repairs. Neither project involved the kind of sweeping deregulatory action that “slashing red tape” implies. ¹⁰

The claim’s placement in the “ENERGY DOMINANCE” section is a category error. A wastewater treatment plant addressing cross-border sewage contamination and a hurricane-damaged highway are infrastructure projects, but neither is an energy project. Their placement in this section suggests they were included to pad the energy section with any available infrastructure success story, regardless of relevance to energy policy. ¹¹

What the Evidence Shows

Both of these projects are real, and the Trump administration did take actions that contributed to their progress. On the SBIWTP, EPA Administrator Zeldin personally engaged with the decades-long Tijuana River sewage crisis, and the 10 MGD interim expansion was completed in an genuinely accelerated timeline. On I-40, the expedited Forest Service material extraction permit saved real time and money, and the $1.15 billion ER allocation was the largest single-state allocation in DOT history. These are legitimate contributions and deserve acknowledgment.

But the framing is doing heavy lifting that the facts cannot support. The SBIWTP is a project built on $600+ million in bipartisan congressional funding secured over five years, with a design-build contract awarded and a groundbreaking ceremony held under the Biden administration. The 100-day “miracle” was a temporary chemical treatment enhancement of existing tanks — a valuable stopgap, but not the permanent infrastructure the claim implies. The actual rehabilitation and expansion project remains on a multi-year timeline.

For I-40, the emergency repair that enabled the March 2025 partial reopening was funded by $850 million in Biden-era emergency allocations and was eligible for automatic NEPA categorical exclusion under regulations that have existed for decades. The executive order Trump signed does not, in its legal text, eliminate permitting — it directs agencies to “expedite.” The genuine contribution was the Forest Service material extraction permit, which was compressed from six months to one month. That is a real accomplishment — but it is a specific, targeted administrative action, not the sweeping deregulation that “slashing red tape” evokes.

The phrase “slashing red tape” frames both projects as deregulatory victories when they are better described as examples of executive prioritization and expedited procurement. In both cases, the primary obstacles were logistics (procurement timelines, material sourcing) and funding (which was bipartisan), not environmental regulations.

The Bottom Line

The steel-man case: The Trump administration demonstrably accelerated two real infrastructure projects. The SBIWTP 10 MGD interim expansion was completed in 100 days, providing tangible relief to communities suffering from cross-border sewage contamination. The expedited Pisgah National Forest material extraction permit saved months on I-40 reconstruction, and the $1.15 billion ER allocation was historically large. These actions reflect genuine executive prioritization and deserve credit.

But “slashing red tape” mischaracterizes what actually happened in both cases. The SBIWTP acceleration was primarily a procurement and construction management achievement applied to a temporary chemical enhancement, not a deregulatory triumph — and the underlying $600 million project was funded and launched under prior administrations. The I-40 repair benefited from pre-existing NEPA categorical exclusions for emergency work, $850 million in Biden-era funding, and NCDOT’s own rapid response. The genuine expediting — the Forest Service permit and the SBIWTP procurement — were targeted administrative actions, not the systematic dismantling of regulatory barriers that “slashing red tape” implies. The claim takes real but modest contributions and repackages them as sweeping deregulatory victories.

Footnotes

1. IBWC, “USIBWC, Partners Celebrate Launch of South Bay Plant Rehabilitation and Expansion,” October 29, 2024: https://www.ibwc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/USIBWC-Partners-Celebrate-Launch-of-South-Bay-Plant-Rehabilitation-and-Expansion.pdf. ENR, “San Diego Wastewater Treatment Plant Fix Gets $250M Infusion From Congress,” January 2025: https://www.enr.com/articles/60110-san-diego-wastewater-treatment-plant-fix-gets-250m-infusion-from-congress. California Construction News, “PCL Construction and Stantec awarded $600 million contract for South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant rehab, expansion,” November 4, 2024: https://www.californiaconstructionnews.com/2024/11/04/pcl-construction-and-stantec-awarded-600-million-contract-for-south-bay-international-wastewater-treatment-plant-rehab-expansion/. ↩

2. EPA, “EPA and US IBWC Announce Major Milestone in Delivering 100% Solution to the Tijuana River Sewage Crisis,” August 28, 2025: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-and-us-ibwc-announce-major-milestone-delivering-100-solution-tijuana-river-sewage. ↩

3. FHWA, “Biden-Harris Administration Sends North Carolina $100 Million in Emergency Relief Funding for Roads and Bridges Damaged by Hurricane Helene,” October 5, 2024: https://highways.dot.gov/newsroom/biden-harris-administration-sends-north-carolina-100-million-emergency-relief-funding. CNN, “Stretch of I-40 reopens in North Carolina, marking a milestone in post-Helene recovery,” March 1, 2025: https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/01/us/north-carolina-i40-reopens-helene. ↩

4. Executive Order 14181, “Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas,” Section 5, January 24, 2025. American Presidency Project: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-14181-emergency-measures-provide-water-resources-california-and-improve. Federal Register (90 FR 8671, January 31, 2025). ↩

5. Morganton News Herald, “Trump fast-tracks mining rocks from Pisgah National Forest to repair I-40 storm damage in NC,” 2025: https://morganton.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/article_d9e75b97-be5e-500a-841f-8c7e17028b32.html. USDOT, “U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Announces Update on I-40 Recovery as FHWA Fast-Tracks Mineral Access for North Carolina,” February 2025: https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/us-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-announces-update-i-40-recovery-fhwa-fast. ↩

6. KPBS, “A Milestone for Ending the Cross-Border Sewage Crisis is Met,” August 29, 2025: https://www.kpbs.org/news/environment/2025/08/29/a-milestone-for-ending-the-cross-border-sewage-crisis-is-met. ↩

7. FHWA Emergency Relief Program, 23 CFR 771.117(c)(9)(i) (categorical exclusion for emergency repairs): https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/erelief.cfm. FHWA Emergency Relief Manual, Chapter VI: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/erm/ermchap6.cfm. ↩

8. USDOT, “Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Delivers Largest Emergency Relief Funding Ever for North Carolina’s Hurricane Recovery,” September 24, 2025: https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-delivers-largest-emergency-relief. WLOS, “I-40 Pigeon River Gorge reconstruction on track, completion expected by 2028,” December 2025: https://wlos.com/news/local/i-40-reconstruction-haywood-county-completion-expected-2028-ncdot-pigeon-river-gorge-2025-recovery-hurricane-helene-damage-reinforced-cement-concrete-rcc-progress-construction. ↩

9. KPBS, “A Milestone for Ending the Cross-Border Sewage Crisis is Met,” August 29, 2025: https://www.kpbs.org/news/environment/2025/08/29/a-milestone-for-ending-the-cross-border-sewage-crisis-is-met. inewsource, “South Bay sewer plant expansion is getting fast-tracked,” May 21, 2025: https://inewsource.org/2025/05/21/san-diego-tijuana-sewage-treatment-plant-expansion/. ↩

10. FHWA, 23 CFR 771.117(c)(9)(i) (pre-existing categorical exclusion). EPA, August 28, 2025 press release (describing “expedited contracting and procurement” rather than regulatory elimination). San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board cease and desist order (permitting accommodation, not elimination). ↩

11. White House, “365 Wins in 365 Days,” January 2026, Section: “UNLEASHING AMERICAN ENERGY DOMINANCE — AND COMMON SENSE”: https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2026/01/365-wins-in-365-days-president-trumps-return-marks-new-era-of-success-prosperity/. ↩