Permitting changes in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes permitting provisions that substantially update the environmental permitting process for major infrastructure projects and other federal authorizations. The permitting provisions are called the "One Federation Decision" and will help improve agency coordination, encourage the development of more concise environmental analyses, and help drive more efficient decision-making.

Key Takeaways

If adopted by states, provisions in the bill would help reduce project delays and improve project delivery, including:

• Establishing two-year limit for environmental review to drive timely decisions
• Improving coordination between agencies by designating a lead agency and single, joint environmental document
• Ensuring concise environmental analyses by limiting environmental documents to 200 pages
• Promoting use of categorical exclusions for projects without significant environmental effects
• Elevating importance of siting high voltage transmission lines
• Extending permitting council funding and their public dashboard showing project milestones