The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), in consultation with the National Energy Dominance Council and relevant permitting agencies, has issued a Permitting Technology Action Plan it says will modernize Federal environmental review and permitting processes for infrastructure projects involving roads, bridges, mines, factories, power plants and more.
The Permitting Technology Action Plan provides a government-wide strategy to optimize technology to effectively and efficiently evaluate environmental permits, allowing for seamless information exchange between agencies, simplified interactions for applicants, and greater transparency and predictability on environmental review and permitting schedules for sponsors and stakeholders, the White House said in a statement.
The Permitting Technology Action Plan contains:
- Minimum functional requirements for environmental review and permitting systems
- An initial National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and permitting data and technology standard
- A timeline and implementation roadmap for agencies
- A governance structure for implementation
“The Trump Administration is working tirelessly to implement innovation-driven environmental review and permitting reforms to eliminate needless delays that cripple the growth of the U.S. economy, replacing outdated technology with efficient, speedier solutions,” said Katherine Scarlett, Chief of Staff at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “Through interagency coordination, this Administration has taken bold action to streamline the NEPA process and get America back to building infrastructure projects of all kinds.”