Legislation that cuts red tape, streamlines reviews, and provides greater regulatory certainty under Clean Water Act (CWA) permitting processes received approval on June 25 by the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and includes a provision from U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD).
“Clean water is essential for economic growth, but the Clean Water Act imposes overly burdensome regulations and America’s permitting process is slow and antiquated,” Rep. Johnson said. “My provision encourages states and localities to utilize an online dashboard to increase transparency and collaboration during these environmental reviews, all while improving efficiency.”
The provision was included in the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act, H.R. 3898, introduced on June 11 by U.S. Reps. Mike Collins (R-GA) and Sam Graves (R-MO). The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted 34-30 to advance to the full U.S. House for action.
“Thanks to the reforms proposed by Congressman Johnson, this legislation will improve federal and state coordination, make the permitting process more efficient, and help ensure that infrastructure projects get done in a more timely manner,” said Rep. Graves, chairman of the committee. “I commend him for his common-sense contribution to this bill and his leadership on this issue.”
Rep. Johnson’s provision would encourage states to coordinate with the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC) on the status of permit applications and requests for certification under the Clean Water Act, including National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and dredge and fill permits, according to a summary provided by the congressman’s staff.
FPISC was established in 2015 as part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to bring together relevant federal agencies tasked with environmental review and authorizations to improve coordination and efficiency.
The council administers an online dashboard that allows federal agencies, project developers, and members of the public to track the federal government’s environmental review processes for large or complex infrastructure projects.