Contact Information
Permitting Council Press Office (media@permitting.gov) 

WASHINGTON (March 29, 2024) – Today, the Permitting Council Executive Director released the fiscal year 2024 first quarter report to Congress, evaluating federal agency compliance with FAST-41 requirements. The report showcases continued improvement in agency coordination and collaboration, in addition to two projects completing the federal environmental permitting process.

“These are exciting times at the Permitting Council as we realize the fruits of our collective efforts to revolutionize infrastructure permitting,” says Eric Beightel, Permitting Council Executive Director. “From convening stakeholders to share best practices, to meeting one-on-one with project sponsors and community members to understand the true impacts of a project’s progress, the work we are doing is changing the way that the federal government works across stakeholders to get needed infrastructure approved for construction, and the results will bring transformative impacts for decades to come.” 

During the first quarter 29 projects received permitting assistance from the Permitting Council, the majority in renewable energy-related sectors. One new project joined the FAST-41 project portfolio during this quarter, Vineyard Northeast, a multi-billion dollar offshore wind project expected to power over a million homes. Two projects were completed during the reporting period, the Cardinal-Hickory Creek 345 kV Transmission Line Project and the Revolution Wind Farm Project:

• Cardinal-Hickory Creek: This $500 million, 345 kilovolt transmission line project will run 102 miles from Iowa to Wisconsin. Project sponsors anticipate that the project will provide economic savings and improve electric system reliability for affected communities.
• Revolution Wind: This $1.5 billion offshore wind project will bring 704 MW of clean energy to Connecticut and Rhode Island, generating enough energy to power more than 250,000 homes.

The quarterly report highlights continued work by federal agencies to adhere to the requirements of the FAST-41 program, with agencies satisfying requirements for establishing, reviewing and updating coordinated project plans. Additionally, agencies met the majority of project completion dates. When completion dates were not met agencies modified those dates or sent formal explanations as per FAST-41 requirements.

The quarterly report is now available on the Permitting Council website. 

About the Permitting Council and FAST-41

Established in 2015 by Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41), the Permitting Council is a federal agency charged with improving the transparency and predictability of the federal environmental review and authorization process for certain critical infrastructure projects. 

The Permitting Council coordinates federal environmental reviews and authorizations for projects that seek and qualify for FAST-41 coverage. FAST-41 covered projects are entitled to comprehensive permitting timetables and transparent, collaborative management of those timetables on the Federal Permitting Dashboard. FAST-41 covered projects may be in the renewable or conventional energy production, electricity transmission, energy storage, surface transportation, aviation, ports and waterways, water resource, broadband, pipelines, manufacturing, mining, carbon capture, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and machine learning, high-performance computing and advanced computer hardware and software, quantum information science and technology, data storage and data management, and cybersecurity sectors. 

In addition to purview over FAST-41 covered projects, the Permitting Council has also been designated as a federal permitting center of excellence, working to improve coordination among agencies, identifying and sharing best practices, and accelerating information sharing and troubleshooting for infrastructure projects throughout the federal government. 

###