Energy and Infrastructure Permitting
Governors are leading efforts to overcome multiple siting, permitting, and regulatory challenges that pose significant barriers to effective energy and infrastructure deployment.
Improving the permitting process for the delivery of infrastructure projects has come to the fore of late, particularly in the context of recent generational infrastructure investments like the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the CHIPS and Science Act, as well as forthcoming investments made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Governors are leading to develop key principles for use in process improvement, and organizing around project delivery and acceleration.
“Infrastructure investment and energy that is affordable and reliable are keys to unlocking opportunity in communities of all sizes. The $1 trillion infrastructure package presents a historic opportunity to advance America’s ability to compete in the global economy, but the United States is among the slowest nations in the developed world in approving and completing infrastructure projects. We can accelerate the timeline for infrastructure and energy-related projects around the country while still protecting the environment. Governors are working together across party lines and state lines on common sense solutions to safely speed up the process to deliver energy and infrastructure benefits nationwide.”
Governor John Bel Edwards and Governor Spencer Cox
Governors’ Actions To Accelerate Infrastructure Projects
During NGA’s 2024 Annual Meeting, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper convened private sector infrastructure partners to explore permitting reform and other strategies to deploy funds and build infrastructure more quickly. Watch the session above or see a readout from the session here.
NGA Resources
Infrastructure Project Permitting Workshop
Governors Announce Bipartisan Permitting Vision to Accelerate Project Delivery
Governors Call for Energy and Permitting Compromise
Governors Collaborate to Speed Energy Infrastructure Construction
Transmission Siting and Permitting: How Governor Leadership can Advance Projects
Governors’ Initiatives To Enhance Planning, Delivery And Success Of Major Infrastructure Projects
Grid Smarts: State Considerations for Adopting Grid Modernization Technologies
Opportunities for Governors to Align Electricity Markets with State Energy Goals
Federal Resources
- U.S. Department of Energy Grid Deployment Office Transmission Siting and Permitting Efforts
- On July 28, 2023, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) released a proposed rule that is designed to fully implement changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) directed by Congress under the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. The proposed rule aims to accelerate NEPA review processes, provide agencies with new tools for conducting environmental reviews, strengthen energy security, accelerate renewable energy projects, encourage early community engagement, and ensure that reviews are thorough, well-documented, and lead to decisions that are timely and have strong legal standing. Other provisions within the proposed rule are designed to clarify the roles of lead and cooperating agencies, set deadlines and page limits for NEPA reviews, help agencies establish new categorical exclusions, encourage additional programmatic environmental assessments, and support mitigated project assessments. Press Release; Proposed Rule.
- The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council was established in 2015 and is charged with improving the transparency, predictability and outcomes of the Federal environmental review and authorization process for certain large-scale infrastructure projects. This includes infrastructure projects in the conventional energy production, renewable energy production, electricity transmission, surface transportation, aviation, ports and waterways, water resource, broadband, pipelines, manufacturing, mining, and carbon capture sectors that meet certain criteria. Additional information can be found in this Overview of FAST-41 and the Permitting Council or at https://www.permits.performance.gov/
- To contact the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, please email FAST.FortyOne@fpisc.gov
- On June 21, 2023, President Biden appointed Eric Beightel as the new Executive Director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council), beginning July 3. Beightel recently served as the Associate Vice President and national lead for Infrastructure Policy and Environmental Strategy at HDR, Inc., an engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services firm. Beightel will oversee $100 billion in infrastructure projects spanning the energy, environment, and infrastructure sectors. Beightel is succeeding Christine Harada in this role, who will be remaining with the Biden administration in a new capacity which will be announced in July. For more information, see the press release.
- On March 6, 2023, the White House offered new instructions for agency leaders attempting to speed up the environmental review and permitting process for major energy and infrastructure projects. A memo issued to department heads offers guidance for agencies to comply with the Biden administration’s permitting “action plan” that it rolled out last year. The memo — signed by Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory, and Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council Executive Director Christine Harada — marks the administration’s latest move on revamping the often-lengthy permitting process. The new guidance includes details for agencies about how to establish clear timeline goals and about which infrastructure projects should be included on a federal permitting “dashboard.” For more information, see the permitting memo.
- On May 11, 2022, the White House released a new Permitting Action Plan to strengthen and accelerate Federal permitting and environmental reviews by fully leveraging existing permitting authorities, as well as new provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Action Plan outlines the Administration’s strategy for ensuring that Federal environmental reviews and permitting processes are effective, efficient, and transparent, guided by the best available science to promote positive environmental and community outcomes, and shaped by early and meaningful public engagement. Resources: Fact Sheet; Action Plan