The Trump administration on Tuesday proposed a new rule aimed at speeding up and streamlining the permitting process for large energy and infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines and facilities tied to artificial intelligence.
The rule, which does not require action by Congress, includes a suite of procedural changes to section 401 of the Clean Water Act—a law enacted in the 1970s that is the primary federal statute governing water pollution in the United States.
For decades, section 401 has granted states and tribes the authority to approve, impose conditions on, or reject, federal permits for projects that they determine will pollute or damage local waterways.
Now, the Trump administration aims to scale back that authority in order to expedite projects and “unleash energy dominance,” said Jess Kramer, EPA assistant administrator for water, in a press briefing. “This proposed rule is the next step in ensuring that states and tribes only utilize section 401 for its statutory purpose to protect water quality and not as a weapon to shut down projects.”
To date, Kramer said, section 401 has allowed major energy projects to stall unnecessarily, calling the current system “fundamentally flawed.” Implementation problems, she said, have led to lengthy certification timelines that are “bad for business.”
The new rule lays out a series of procedural changes that agency officials say are designed to make the permitting process more predictable and efficient. It would create a standardized list of items companies must submit before a state or tribe can begin reviewing a project. “When finalized, the proposed rule will increase transparency, efficiency and predictability for certifying authorities and the regulated community,” Kramer said. It would also prohibit regulators from asking applicants to withdraw and resubmit requests in order to extend deadlines and would reinforce a firm one-year limit for making decisions.