Building a 21st Century Infrastructure: Modernizing Infrastructure Permitting

The Administration is taking action to modernize the federal infrastructure permitting process, cutting through red tape and getting more timely decisions, while protecting our communities and the environment.

For projects that are approved, this means states, local and tribal governments, and private developers will be able to start construction sooner, create jobs earlier, and fix our nation’s infrastructure faster.

The Administration is releasing a comprehensive plan to accelerate and expand permitting reform government-wide. The Administration’s plan adopts the best practices learned from the initial focus projects and calls on federal agencies to apply those practices going forward. By turning best practice into common practice, we can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the federal permitting and review of all major infrastructure projects. These reforms include:

• Improving Interagency Coordination to Increase Decision Making Speed.
• Synchronizing Reviews.
• Driving Accountability and Transparency through the Online Permitting Dashboard.
• Launching an Interagency Permitting Center to Institutionalize Reform.

This effort to modernize infrastructure permitting is part of the Administration’s broader commitment to increase investment in US infrastructure, as well as the President’s Management Agenda, which is dedicated to driving efficiency within government, spurring economic growth, and unlocking the full potential of the federal workforce. The Administration has also recently released the GROW AMERICA Act, a four-year, $302 billion transportation plan to modernize our nation’s roads, bridges, and public transportation, spur economic growth, and allow states and localities to make sound multi-year investments. The GROW AMERICA Act includes reforms to further accelerate the approval and delivery of projects. Together these efforts will help create the transportation infrastructure we need for the 21st century.