According to administration officials Tuesday, President Joe Biden’s administration will attempt to speed up construction of roads and bridges by changing the federal review process that permits environmental and other permits.
Administration officials claimed that they wanted to make permitting easier while still maintaining environmental standards.
Brenda Mallory, White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair, stated that the new permit plan includes five components. They are:
- To reduce the number federal permits required for a project, consolidating decision-making between agencies is a good idea. In an effort streamline permitting applications from different industries, the White House has also created sector-specific teams of experts.
- Setting timeline goals and tracking project information.
- Engaging in meaningful outreach to and communication with states and tribes in order to gain support and input for projects starting points.
- Supporting nonfederal partners with technical assistance and support.
- To prioritise permitting review, use existing agency resources.
The permits plan builds upon provisions of the last year’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. The law created a permitting council that brought together agencies at the beginning of each stage of the permit process.
Samantha Silverberg, White House deputy infrastructure coordinator, stated that less than 10% of the funding under the infrastructure law will be spent on the federal level.
Administration wants to reduce delays in permitting to encourage states and tribes, cities, and private companies to develop quickly.
Federal officials from both parties have long aimed to streamline permitting. Reduced federal review times was a goal that was frequently stated during the Trump administration, which was primarily focused on infrastructure.
Biden officials insist on Tuesday that the administration can speed up permitting without compromising environmental standards.
Jason Miller, the deputy director of management, said that this plan explicitly rejects old-fashioned notions that there is a tradeoff between efficiency permitting and ensuring that permits are done efficiently in a timely manner. We can, and we will, do both.
Silverberg stated that the plan will have an environmental benefit by speeding up construction of renewable energy facilities such as the South Fork windfarm off Long Island, New York.
Officials on the phone declined to give details about how environmental reviews could be cut down. They said that the review timelines would make sense and would depend on project scope and type.
Mallory stated that we want to ensure that we have a timeline that is appropriate for the specific action being taken.
