President Trump today issued a Presidential Memorandum on “Updating Permitting Technology for the 21st Century.” Noting that the federal government “does not properly leverage technology to effectively and efficiently evaluate environmental permits,” the Memorandum directs federal entities to “make maximum use of technology” when conducting environmental review and permitting processes for infrastructure projects of all types, including by, among other things, eliminating paper based application and review processes, accelerating processing times, reducing the length of permit application documents, eliminating “friction” between coordinating agencies, and increasing interagency use of existing analyses.
The Council on Environmental Quality Chair is directed to issue a Permitting Technology Action Plan (“Action Plan”) by May 30 that includes an initial data and technology standard for federal permit/authorization applications and reviews, minimum functional requirements for permitting-related software systems, a roadmap for a unified interagency permitting and environmental review data system, an interagency governance structure to oversee Action Plan implementation, and a timeline for Action Plan implementation. Adoption and initiation of implementation of the (1) initial data and technology standard and (2) minimum functional requirements for permitting-related software systems must take place by July 15.
By May 30, the Council on Environmental Quality Chair is also directed to establish and lead an interagency Permitting and Innovation Center that will design and test prototype tools that could be implemented under the Action Plan, as well as facilitate agency adoption of prototype software systems.
In line with the Memorandum’s directive, CEQ yesterday announced establishment of the Center, reaffirming that by May 30, the Center will coordinate with other federal agencies on the Action Plan, develop an initial NEPA and permitting data and technology standards, and issue the Action Plan.