News
A presidential memorandum directs agencies to “apply modern technologies” in the interests of efficiently evaluating environmental permits.
By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
Federal agencies have been directed to “make maximum use of technology in environmental review and permitting” under a new presidential memorandum issued this week.
The memorandum, posted on the White House’s website, orders the elimination of paper-based application and review processes, along with accelerating the processing time for projects.
According to the presidential action, titled “Updating Permitting Technology for the 21st Century,” the memorandum will impact “infrastructure projects of all kinds.”
“The government does not properly leverage technology to effectively and efficiently evaluate environmental permits, causing significant delay to important infrastructure projects that impact our economic well-being,” the memorandum stated. “This will now change.”
Language in the memorandum goes on to say the president’s administration “will apply modern technologies to longstanding problems to deliver outstanding results at 21st-century speeds.”
The memorandum also directs the Council on Environmental Quality to create a Permitting Technology Action Plan and establish an interagency effort that will design and test prototype tools for potential implementation.
The action plan, to be developed in consultation with the National Energy Dominance Council, must be crafted within 45 days.
Other directives in the memorandum include reducing duplicative data submissions, improving the transparency and predictability of project permitting schedules, and streamlining “the overall environmental review and permitting process at the federal level.”
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