One of the Trump administration’s top priorities is to approve major infrastructure projects faster than ever before, officials from the National Energy Dominance Council, Council on Environmental Quality and Permitting Council said on a panel at the SelectUSA Investment Summit May 5.
“For too long, investment has been stalled because of slow bureaucracy,” said John Reiten, deputy executive director of the NEDC. “We want to see projects built cheaper, more efficiently and faster.”
Industry representatives have long sought environmental permitting reform for infrastructure projects, arguing that the current process takes too long and unnecessarily stymies economic development. To address these concerns, the Trump administration’s proposed Environmental Protection Agency budget seeks an additional $14 million to “cut through the red tape.”
The administration also established the NEDC by executive order in February 2025. Reiten said the NEDC strives in part to be a “clearinghouse” for companies to discuss energy projects and difficulties in getting them approved.
The NEDC also works with state governments and federal agencies like the Bureau of Land Management to move projects along “as fast as possible,” which is the only way to “unlock our dependence on foreign adversaries,” he said. “We are using all the tools in our toolbox,” including permits, grants, loans and other measures, to “get shovels in the ground.”
The NEDC’s work has been wide ranging. For example, in January it announced an agreement with a bipartisan group of governors to “expand the nation’s energy supply, safeguard affordability and support the rapid expansion of data-center development.” It also co-hosted the Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum in March, where it advanced President Donald Trump’s vision for “American Energy Dominance.”
One major source of unnecessary permitting hassles is the National Environmental Policy Act, said Katherine Scarlett, chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality. NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions before making permitting decisions.
Although the statute’s goal may be laudable, she said, the way it is applied often throws up unneeded roadblocks. “Ever since NEPA was signed into law, it’s slowly become more and more of a burden,” she said.
Scarlett said that CEQ is currently working with other federal agencies to update their procedures to align with recent NEPA permitting reforms, which cover topics such as permitting deadlines, scope limits for permit approvals and categorical exclusion reviews that exempt certain actions from the need for an environmental assessment or impact statement. The goal is to “strip the process down to what [NEPA] requires” and jettison the “one size fits all” approach taken by prior NEPA regulations, she said.
According to Scarlett, as of June 30, she said, all federal departments will have developed new, streamlined NEPA permitting procedures.
The Trump administration has also taken steps to modernize permitting technology. According to an April 15, 2025, presidential memorandum, the federal government uses outdated procedures like paper-based applications and reviews that cause significant delays.
“The more we can modernize these tools, the better,” Scarlett said.
Along the same lines, in January the CEQ announced a pilot program for CE Works, a technology platform that digitizes the environmental review process. CE Works is designed to speed up categorical exclusion determinations under NEPA.
The government also needs to clarify opaque permitting regulations, said Emily Domenech, executive director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council. “Oftentimes, the biggest hurdle you face is not knowing what the federal government wants you to do,” she said.
The Permitting Council was established in 2015 by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act. Its mission is to make the federal environmental review and authorization process for certain infrastructure projects more transparent and predictable.
Domenech said the Permitting Council is not trying to circumvent the law or “fast track” projects. Rather, the goal is to “get back to basics” and stick to actual legal requirements when considering whether to grant permits.
“We don’t want to default to the longest, largest review, whether it’s required by the law or not,” she said. “There’s no reason to do more than what the law says.”
She said the Permitting Council also has the authority to coordinate state and federal permitting efforts so they can work in parallel rather than sequentially. This authority “had never been used before” until a few recent projects, Domenech said.
Companies can also help themselves in getting their projects approved, she said, including by communicating with other stakeholders early and often. In particular, Domenech suggested talking to state governors’ offices, which often will have insight into historical challenges with similar projects and other potential obstacles.
She added that a company should show that it is transparent and eager to responsibly deliver a project that will benefit the entire community.
