The Council on Environmental Quality issued its Permitting Technology Action Plan, which seeks to modernize federal environmental review and permitting processes for a wide range of infrastructure projects, according to a White House press release. The action fulfills a directive from President Trump for agencies to make maximum use of technology in federal environmental reviews and permitting processes, according to the CEQ’s Permitting Innovation Center website.
Thomas Shedd, technology transformation services director at the General Services Administration, vowed that the new plan will speed up the permitting process, saying in the release that his unit will build tools to allow federal agencies “to accelerate their environmental review and permitting processes — with results in weeks or months, not years.”
The initiative follows a recent Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the scope of environmental reviews required on major infrastructure projects.
The permitting action plan focuses on four key areas:
• Minimum functional requirements for environmental review and permitting systems.
• An initial National Environmental Policy Act and permitting data and technology standard.
• A timeline and implementation roadmap for agencies.
• A governance structure for implementation.