Dozen Federal Entities Sign MOU on Coordinating Infrastructure Environmental Review Processes
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross were among the leaders of a dozen federal agencies and councils that signed on Monday to a White House-drafted memorandum of understanding to establish a coordinated process for environmental…
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reviews of broadband and other major infrastructure projects. The MOU sets up the process President Donald Trump mandated in an August executive order that required one lead federal agency to spearhead reviews for each major infrastructure project (see 1708150067). Trump emphasized the need for streamlining the permitting process as part of his push for major infrastructure legislation, including in a February proposal that also included $200 billion in funding (see 1802110001 and 1802120001). The MOU designates the lead agency to “decide whether a project sponsor has identified the reasonable availability of funds, and whether the project otherwise meets the requirements for being identified as a major infrastructure project. It also requires the lead review agency be determined “as soon as practicable for each project." The document requires all signatory agencies and councils to do their reviews simultaneously rather than sequentially, as part of Trump's goal to reduce the permitting timeline to two years.