President Obama Approves 14 Infrastructure Projects for New Streamlining Initiative

On Oct. 10, the administration announced a list of 14 infrastructure projects to be expedited through a permitting and environmental streamlining process. These projects are part of President Obama’s efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of federal permit decisions and environmental reviews in order to create jobs by moving projects quickly from conception to completion.  The projects represent diverse sectors of the economy and will support the creation of tens of thousands of jobs. According to the White House, these specific projects were chosen because they will:

• Create a significant number of jobs
• Have already identified necessary funding
• The remaining significant steps before construction are within the control of the federal government
• Can be completed within 18 months.

The acceleration of these projects marks the first step in reforming and improving the permitting and review process for the federal agencies, as well as state, local and tribal governments.  Additionally, at the end of November, the public will also be able to track the progress of projects under review through one central web page. This should promote transparency in the federal government and preserve opportunities for public participation in federal decision-making. AGC supports cutting the red tape to help create jobs, and will continue to follow and report on the developments of these projects in the future. For more information, please contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.