Permitting Process

Through environmental reviews and permit decisions, the Federal Government ensures that infrastructure projects are designed and constructed in a manner consistent with protections for public health, safety, and the environment, and that the public is informed about the environmental impacts of proposed projects.  At a time when job growth must be our top priority, the Federal government plays a central role in ensuring that our nation’s infrastructure projects move as quickly as possible through federal environmental review and permitting processes.

On March 22, 2012, the President issued Executive Order: "Improving Performance of Federal Permitting and Review of Infrastructure Projects" whose purpose is "to significantly reduce the aggregate time required to make decisions in the permitting and review of infrastructure projects by the Federal Government, while improving environmental and community outcomes".

On August 31, 2011, the President issued a memorandum instructing Federal agencies to expedite environmental review and permitting processes for selected infrastructure projects with significant potential for job creation, and to improve the accountability, transparency, and efficiency of those processes. This Federal Infrastructure Projects Dashboard was designed to meet these objectives, based in part on recommendations from the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. 

The dashboard provides the public with an overview of the high priority infrastructure projects categorized by sector; including descriptions of the expedited processes that are being undertaken and status information on specific permits, reviews, and approvals. In addition, the dashboard offers the public an opportunity for creative engagement with the information that is provided and will highlight success stories and key achievements related to the projects.