If anyone raises significant objections, the process could be stalled indefinitely.
And as costs spiralled, resettlement efforts of the northern part of the atoll stalled indefinitely.
The Zayed National Museum is several years behind schedule, and the Hadid and Ando buildings appear to be stalled indefinitely.
"There are a lot of very worthwhile projects that are being stalled indefinitely for reasons largely unrelated to the environment," Mr. Davis said.
The company figured that if Mr. Bush left office without the environmental report's being approved, the entire project could be stalled indefinitely.
The development, which would have had a residential component, is stalled indefinitely, as its backing came from Lehman Brothers, which is now defunct.
Just last month, Mr. Lautenberg made a special trip to the Capitol to supply a crucial vote that prevented Mr. Obama's nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency from being stalled indefinitely in committee.
They also expressed fears that plans will stay stalled indefinitely because Mr. Suozzi's deputy in charge of economic development, Peter Sylver, resigned last month amid charges that he misused federal grant money.
Farm-trade reform may now be stalled indefinitely, says Mr Smith, but "nobody is charging around saying that iPods for America will have to be built here in future, or that semiconductors can no longer be built in Taiwan, or no Brazilian aircraft for JetBlue".In large parts of the American and global economies, trade liberalisation has already taken place.
Slated to open last year, construction on all the projects has been stalled indefinitely due to financial problems with the developer, Las Vegas Sands Corp. Developers have been unable to get construction permits since the 2008 conviction of Ao Man-long, Macao's former secretary for transport and public works, on bribery and money laundering charges related to building approvals.
