The Trump Administration has released a new Permitting Technology Action Plan that will overhaul the way the federal government reviews and approves infrastructure projects.
The plan, developed by the Council on Environmental Quality in coordination with the National Energy Dominance Council and other permitting agencies, is another step in fulfilling President Trump’s directive to bring federal permitting into the 21st century.
The action plan relates to infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, energy facilities, and industrial operations, and comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s April memorandum titled “Updating Permitting Technology for the 21st Century.” It builds upon the launch of the Permitting Innovation Center on April 30, which is a collaboration with the General Services Administration’s Technology Transformation Services to pilot new digital systems.
The Permitting Technology Action Plan includes several major components:
- Establishes government-wide standards for digital permitting systems to ensure efficiency and consistency.
- Introduces a preliminary data and technology framework for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, designed to facilitate faster and more uniform environmental reviews.
- Sets a phased schedule for federal agencies to implement the technology upgrades.
- Details interagency coordination mechanisms to support effective execution.
The initiative addresses chronic issues that include fragmented systems, incompatible software, and manual handling of data. The goal is to enable real-time collaboration among agencies, improve transparency, and reduce uncertainty for applicants.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said the plan is “an example of American innovation solving American challenges,” and emphasized that it will result in cleaner, faster, and more reliable infrastructure.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright added that modernizing the permitting process is “essential for strengthening energy security and lowering energy costs for American families.”
The action plan follows President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 Declaration of National Energy Emergency, which established emergency permitting procedures for fossil fuel and mining projects on federal lands and capped reviews at 28 days.
The initiative also coincides with a major Supreme Court decision on May 29 that narrowed the scope of NEPA. The Court ruled NEPA is a procedural statute, not a regulatory hurdle, making it easier for agencies to approve projects without in-depth environmental impact assessments. Industry leaders hailed the decision, while environmental groups warned it could sideline environmental protections in favor of fossil fuel development.
Since Alaska’s economy heavily relies on natural resource extraction, including oil, gas, and minerals, with projects like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil and gas leasing and the Pebble Mine being focal points, the policy framework may help move projects along in an expedited way, reversing the regulatory tangles created by the Biden Administration.
The use of the term “efficiency” to describe any program overhaul the Trump Administration is launching—such as DOGE, immigration, or trade policy—is an Orwellian appropriation of what is more commonly known as “chaos”—which is decidedly inefficient for doing anything but destruction.
So what’s your solution to the completely out of control federal government trump inherited?? Bill Clinton laid of 377.000 federal employees his first 12 months in office trump has sacked 40.000. There is no smooth way to deal with corruption. You wade in with a club. It’s become very evident to me what scum the democrats are. It’s got me wondering who had the nuclear code as Biden wasn’t capable. It’s also apparent that liberals do not like efficiency whatsoever. It’s all quite amazing. In the end this is going to have to come to blows libs versus conservatives. I don’t see a peaceful solution to any of this. There is no reasoning with unreasonable people.
If it wasn’t “shovel ready” in January and turning dirt by now, it isn’t going to happen. As Keystone proved, the next moron Democrat or leftist judge can stop a project mid-construction. Most of what Trump will accomplish will be a re-hash of work for lawyers, engineers, and project coordinators, and bad investments for the money managers of our retirement investments.
Drill, baby, DRILL! Now if industry can move fast enough to bring the projects online before the next (D)em administration can cancel it, like they did with the Keystone XL pipeline.
Can Alaska’s governor do what President Trump is doing, eliminate the deep state, and cut the massive red tape that seems to be pricing Alaska’s oil and gas projects out of worldwide competition? This red tape and abuse are killing one oil and gas company after another, resulting in the constant decline of Alaskan oil and gas production and revenue loss.
The two biggest oil and gas operators produce 95% of Alaska’s production, which is kind of like a monopoly; the state seems to support this monopoly, as a few abusive bureaucrats choose winners and losers.
It may never be corrected if it is not seen as a problem. Many of us still surviving have told the leadership in the Dunleavey current administration, and it seems like someone is looking at these bad apples.
Over the last decade, with shameful results, many Alaska area-wide Cook Inlet and Alaska Peninsula DNR oil and gas lease sales have offered over 10 million acres annually. Some have received no bids, and others have received only a single bid on only a few tracts.
Why not be reasonable and offer oil and gas lease terms of 10 years, with a $1.00 per acre minimum bid and $1.00 per year rentals at a 12.5 % royalty to the state and reduce the bonding and permitting cost and approve Oil and Gas Units under the law upon request? This makes too much sense and has been rejected for decades. Partly because of this rejection, Alaskans are seeing the decline of oil and gas in Alaska under unreasonable, unfair, and harsh policies that seem to go unchecked. This appears to be changing for the better, but it is slow-moving.
A few pathological optimists like me are waiting for oil and gas policy improvements so that Alaska will become attractive again to worldwide oil and gas investors.
Everyone who cares about America wants to be part of the Energy Dominance plan and finally start drilling. This means prosperity for all, high-paying Jobs and opportunities for Aalskans.
Alaska needs many more oil and gas investors if the Gas Pipeline needs gas!
Better Policy means high-paying oil and gas Jobs and opportunities for Alaska
And we bomb Iran back to Stone Age
Hopefully!
Well, with a permitting process that might actually issue permit, maybe there could be investors willing to gamble on the leases. The withholding of permits was entirely intentional. They wanted the money from he lease,thank you very much, but let you use it? Well, sucks to be you, no permits for YOU!, you filthy capitalist swine!!
Trumps steel tariff at 50% will have a negative impact on oil drilling. Add to that OPEC Plus adding 411,000 barrels in July and suddenly “drill baby drill” is as relevant as “they’re eating the dogs”!
Pebble is one step closer to reality. Congratulations. Cheers –
So you think Don Trump Jr. has changed his mind about one of his favorite global hunting locales? Or do you think Junior holds no sway with Senior? Maybe the GOP-controlled Congress will enact legislation overriding USACE and EPA (and Junior)? How would the State and federal agencies even be able to handle such massive undertakings simultaneously (even if so much staff hadn’t been laid off)–Ambler Road, ANWR, NPR-A, Cold Bay Road, ANCSA 17(d)(1) withdrawals, Tongass, and Pebble? Trump will need to stay in office another 8 years after his second term to accomplish all of this, unless Congress enables the dream with overwhelming legislation.