White House Aims to Change Infrastructure Permitting

Oct. 17, 2019

Bloomberg reports that the White House is reviewing a plan to change the way it issues environmental permits for infrastructure projects. If the proposal sees fruition, it could speed National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews for roads, bridges, pipelines, powerlines, etc.

With the Trump administration and business groups saying federal permitting is too expensive and complicated, this plan is geared toward speeding up the process and allowing faster infrastructure growth.

According to the article, it is possible the proposed update will be challenged in court, since it may "dismantle protections" of the NEPA. The NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impacts of their construction decisions.

Source: Bloomberg