Trump Team Pursues Deals to Speed Permitting in Western States

The Trump administration is looking to reach formal agreements with states to push projects through the environmental permitting process faster, with a focus on resource-rich areas in the West, a top federal permitting official said.

That could be a boon for a wide range of developers, including manufacturers, AI companies, data centers, energy producers, road and bridge builders, and miners.

The idea is to replicate the deal recently struck between the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council and Alaska—the first of its kind—under which the council will have a special relationship with the state, as well as with project developers who want to build within its borders.

On average, the 25-person council says it can shave 18 months off a project’s review time by bringing the relevant agencies together early, looking for snags that might crop up later in the process, and holding decision-makers accountable to deadlines. Under the Alaska deal, the council will provide dedicated staff, meet regularly with project sponsors, and develop specialized tools to speed the process within the state.

“I would expect other states that have lots of federal land to be interested in similar agreements,” Emily Domenech, the council’s executive director, said in an interview.

“It would be wonderful to see more partnerships like this across the country, so that we’re really taking advantage of the expertise that states have, and frankly, leaning on them to help identify projects that are ready for prime time,” she said.

Western states are an especially good fit for the council’s expertise because, like Alaska, they have “big overlaps between federal, state, and tribal land that can make permitting challenging,” Domenech said. “And sometimes it’s challenging because nobody gets all those people in the same room to talk about their shared responsibilities.”

Permitting Council staff have had conversations with various states, but none of the talks are advanced enough to share them publicly, Domenech said.

The idea appeals to Democrats, too, who broadly share Republicans’ concerns that it takes too long to reach a yes or no decision on a permit.

Focus on States

“Generally speaking, bringing state actions into the fold will create a more comprehensive picture of the permitting requirements and increase collaboration across all levels of government,” said Eric Beightel, who led the council under President Joe Biden.

Under Beightel’s leadership the council reached a similar agreement to work with New Mexico, although it was limited to the build out of renewable energy. The council was working with other states on similar partnerships, but “we ran out of time” to get them done before Biden’s term expired, Beightel said.

The New Mexico agreement is still in place, despite the Trump administration’s broad opposition to renewable energy, according to a Permitting Council spokeswoman.

The council’s focus on western states isn’t likely to draw its limited resources away from blue-state priorities because projects are placed on its to-do list based on neutral statutory criteria, said Marcella Burke, former deputy solicitor for energy and natural resources at the Interior Department during the first Trump administration.

“Once listed, each project receives the same permitting process improvements, regardless of its location or resource type,” said Burke, now chairman of Burke Law Group PLLC.

“What is prioritized will be considered among numerous factors, including whether the projects at issue promote energy independence, and that is determined on a case-by-case basis,” Burke said.

Still, “the political reality is that, with this administration’s priorities aligning with greater conventional energy development on federal lands, it makes sense that they are seeing an uptick in interest from those developers,” Beightel said.

Progress on Mines

Separately, Domenech said the council has made progress in shepherding critical mineral mining projects through the process.

Dozens of new mines have been added to the Permitting Council’s slate of work since the start of the second Trump administration, consistent with the president’s goal of rapidly expanding the nation’s supplies of substances like copper, zinc, titanium, and uranium.

In recent months, the number of critical mineral projects listed on the council’s dashboard has grown from one to 39, and more are on the way, Domenech said.

“My hope is that we list a lot of projects this year, and then we spend a lot of time next year making sure they all get off the list,” she said. “That’s the goal. The goal is not to put projects on the list. It’s to complete federal permitting and get them off.”