Fed Agency Has New Powers to Permit Big Projects

The process of getting permits for infrastructure projects that involve federal lands or federal agencies has long been a source of frustration for state and local officials, but a Biden administration official says a new agency is helping to speed those projects along, Route Fifty reports.

“Funding is great, but permitting is where the proverbial rubber meets the road,” Christine Harada, the executive director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council. “This is exactly where we really need to work together and ensure that we are reducing the friction with respect to getting this infrastructure actually done.”

The council was created under a 2015 transportation funding law, Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, but only became permanent with the federal infrastructure law last year. The council, with representatives from 13 federal agencies, oversees more than $100 billion worth of projects, Harada said.

The agency is designed to speed up megaprojects that depend on federal approval. One of the areas it has been involved in is coordinating the development of offshore wind farms in the North Atlantic, a major priority for many states. But the council can also help move along projects that involve conventional energy production, renewable energy production, broadband, transmission lines, pipelines, and hydropower dams.

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Source: Route Fifty