President Trump has signed an Executive Order to increase productivity within the federal permitting process. The order is designed to improve efficiency through the use of technology and seeks to update the application and granting of environmental permits for infrastructure projects.
According to President Trump’s order, the federal government “does not properly leverage technology to effectively and efficiently evaluate environmental permits, causing significant delay to important infrastructure projects that impact our economic well-being. This will now change. My Administration will apply modern technologies to longstanding problems to deliver outstanding results at 21st-century speeds.”
The order states that the updated process for reviewing permits will apply to a wide variety of infrastructure projects, including “roads, bridges, mines, factories, power plants, and others.”
The executive order cites efficiency measures such as eliminating paper-based applications, accelerating processing time, increasing accessibility of application documents, reducing duplicate data submissions from those seeking permits, and boosting coordination between agencies involved in the permitting process.
A statement from the White House stressed the need for reform and the improved prospects for efficiency in infrastructure through the issuance of President Trump’s order.
According to the White House statement, “Permitting reform is a top priority for the Trump Administration and this action will accelerate the process, improve the transparency and predictability of project timelines, and eliminate unnecessary delays holding back the growth of the American economy.”
The order directs the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC) to create a plan for increasing efficiency that will “guide agencies as they use technology to digitize permit applications, expedite reviews, enhance interagency coordination on projects, and given sponsors more transparency and predictability on project permitting schedules.”
Members of the Trump administration praised the order and its potential impact on future infrastructure building in the U.S.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said the order would “channel our greatest asset, American innovation and technology, to overhaul our current permitting process and power our nation faster, better, cleaner, and more reliably than ever before.”
Lee Zeldin, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, celebrated the improved prospects for those seeking environmental building permits. “No longer will applicants face years-long, uncertain, and costly permitting processes,” Zeldin said. “Instead, we will safeguard our environment and incentivize investment into our economy creating American jobs.”