Improving Performance of Federal Permitting and Review of Infrastructure Projects

Executive Order 13604 of March 22, 2012

Improving Performance of Federal Permitting and
Review of Infrastructure Projects

By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, and in order to significantly reduce the
aggregate time required to make decisions in the
permitting and review of infrastructure projects by the
Federal Government, while improving environmental and
community outcomes, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. (a) To maintain our Nation's
competitive edge and ensure an economy built to last,
the United States must have fast, reliable, resilient,
and environmentally sound means of moving people,
goods, energy, and information. In a global economy, we
will compete for the world's investments based in
significant part on the quality of our infrastructure.
Investing in the Nation's infrastructure provides
immediate and long-term economic benefits for local
communities and the Nation as a whole.

The quality of our Nation's infrastructure depends in
critical part on Federal permitting and review
processes, including planning, approval, and
consultation processes. These processes inform
decision-makers and affected communities about the
potential benefits and impacts of proposed
infrastructure projects, and ensure that projects are
designed, built, and maintained in a manner that is
consistent with protecting our public health, welfare,
safety, national security, and environment. Reviews and
approvals of infrastructure projects can be delayed due
to many factors beyond the control of the Federal
Government, such as poor project design, incomplete
applications, uncertain funding, or multiple reviews
and approvals by State, local, tribal, or other
jurisdictions. Given these factors, it is critical that
executive departments and agencies (agencies) take all
steps within their authority, consistent with available
resources, to execute Federal permitting and review
processes with maximum efficiency and effectiveness,
ensuring the health, safety, and security of
communities and the environment while supporting vital
economic growth.

To achieve that objective, our Federal permitting and
review processes must provide a transparent,
consistent, and predictable path for both project
sponsors and affected communities. They must ensure
that agencies set and adhere to timelines and schedules
for completion of reviews, set clear permitting
performance goals, and track progress against those
goals. They must encourage early collaboration among
agencies, project sponsors, and affected stakeholders
in order to incorporate and address their interests and
minimize delays. They must provide for transparency and
accountability by utilizing cost-effective information
technology to collect and disseminate information about
individual projects and agency performance, so that the
priorities and concerns of all our citizens are
considered. They must rely upon early and active
consultation with State, local, and tribal governments
to avoid conflicts or duplication of effort, resolve
concerns, and allow for concurrent rather than
sequential reviews. They must recognize the critical
role project sponsors play in assuring the timely and
cost-effective review of projects by providing complete
information and analysis and by supporting, as
appropriate, the costs associated with review. And,
they must enable agencies to share priorities, work
collaboratively and concurrently to advance reviews and
permitting decisions, and facilitate the resolution of
disputes at all levels of agency organization.

Each of these elements must be incorporated into
routine agency practice to provide demonstrable
improvements in the performance of Federal
infrastructure permitting and review processes,
including lower costs, more timely decisions, and a
healthier and cleaner environment. Also, these elements
must be integrated into project planning processes so
that projects are designed appropriately to avoid, to
the extent practicable, adverse impacts on public
health, security, historic properties and other
cultural resources, and the environment, and to
minimize or mitigate impacts that may occur. Permitting
and review process improvements that have proven
effective must be expanded and institutionalized.

    (b) In advancing this policy, this order expands
upon efforts undertaken pursuant to Executive Order
13580 of July 12, 2011 (Interagency Working Group on
Coordination of Domestic Energy Development and
Permitting in Alaska), Executive Order 13563 of January
18, 2011 (Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review),
and my memorandum of August 31, 2011 (Speeding
Infrastructure Development Through More Efficient and
Effective Permitting and Environmental Review), as well
as other ongoing efforts.

Sec. 2. Steering Committee on Federal Infrastructure
Permitting and Review Process Improvement. There is
established a Steering Committee on Federal
Infrastructure Permitting and Review Process
Improvement (Steering Committee), to be chaired by the
Chief Performance Officer (CPO), in consultation with
the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ).

    (a) Infrastructure Projects Covered by this Order.
The Steering Committee shall facilitate improvements in
Federal permitting and review processes for
infrastructure projects in sectors including surface
transportation, aviation, ports and waterways, water
resource projects, renewable energy generation,
electricity transmission, broadband, pipelines, and
other such sectors as determined by the Steering
Committee.
    (b) Membership. Each of the following agencies
(Member Agencies) shall be represented on the Steering
Committee by a Deputy Secretary or equivalent officer
of the United States:

(i) the Department of Defense;

(ii) the Department of the Interior;

(iii) the Department of Agriculture;

(iv) the Department of Commerce;

(v) the Department of Transportation;

(vi) the Department of Energy;

(vii) the Department of Homeland Security;

(viii) the Environmental Protection Agency;

(ix) the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation;

(x) the Department of the Army; and

(xi) such other agencies or offices as the CPO may invite to participate.

    (c) Projects of National or Regional Significance.
In furtherance of the policies of this order, the
Member Agencies shall coordinate and consult with each
other to select, submit to the CPO by April 30, 2012,
and periodically update thereafter, a list of
infrastructure projects of national or regional
significance that will have their status tracked on the
online Federal Infrastructure Projects Dashboard
(Dashboard) created pursuant to my memorandum of August
31, 2011.
    (d) Responsibilities of the Steering Committee. The
Steering Committee shall:

(i) develop a Federal Permitting and Review Performance Plan (Federal
Plan), as described in section 3(a) of this order;

(ii) implement the Federal Plan and coordinate resolution of disputes among
Member Agencies relating to implementation of the Federal Plan; and

(iii) coordinate and consult with other agencies, offices, and interagency
working groups as necessary, including the President's Management Council
and Performance Improvement Councils, and, with regard to use and expansion
of the Dashboard, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Technology
Officer to implement this order.

    (e) Duties of the CPO. The CPO shall:

(i) in consultation with the Chair of CEQ and Member Agencies, issue
guidance on the implementation of this order;

(ii) in consultation with Member Agencies, develop and track performance
metrics for evaluating implementation of the Federal Plan and Agency Plans;
and

(iii) by January 31, 2013, and annually thereafter, after input from
interested agencies, evaluate and report to the President on the
implementation of the Federal Plan and Agency Plans, and publish the report
on the Dashboard.

    (f) No Involvement in Particular Permits or
Projects. Neither the Steering Committee, nor the CPO,
may direct or coordinate agency decisions with respect
to any particular permit or project.

Sec. 3. Plans for Measurable Performance Improvement.
(a) By May 31, 2012, the Steering Committee shall,
following coordination with Member Agencies and other
interested agencies, develop and publish on the
Dashboard a Federal Plan to significantly reduce the
aggregate time required to make Federal permitting and
review decisions on infrastructure projects while
improving outcomes for communities and the environment.
The Federal Plan shall include, but not be limited to,
the following actions to implement the policies
outlined in section 1 of this order, and shall reflect
the agreement of any Member Agency with respect to
requirements in the Federal Plan affecting such agency:

(i) institutionalizing best practices for: enhancing Federal, State, local,
and tribal government coordination on permitting and review processes (such
as conducting reviews concurrently rather than sequentially to the extent
practicable); avoiding duplicative reviews; and engaging with stakeholders
early in the permitting process;

(ii) developing mechanisms to better communicate priorities and resolve
disputes among agencies at the national and regional levels;

(iii) institutionalizing use of the Dashboard, working with the CIO to
enhance the Dashboard, and utilizing other cost-effective information
technology systems to share environmental and project-related information
with the public, project sponsors, and permit reviewers; and

(iv) identifying timeframes and Member Agency responsibilities for the
implementation of each proposed action.

    (b) Each Member Agency shall:

(i) by June 30, 2012, submit to the CPO an Agency Plan identifying those
permitting and review processes the Member Agency views as most critical to
significantly reducing the aggregate time required to make permitting and
review decisions on infrastructure projects while improving outcomes for
communities and the environment, and describing specific and measurable
actions the agency will take to improve these processes, including:

(1) performance metrics, including timelines or schedules for review;

(2) technological improvements, such as institutionalized use of the
Dashboard and other information technology systems;

(3) other practices, such as pre-application procedures, early
collaboration with other agencies, project sponsors, and affected
stakeholders, and coordination with State, local, and tribal governments;
and

(4) steps the Member Agency will take to implement the Federal Plan.

(ii) by July 31, 2012, following coordination with other Member Agencies
and interested agencies, publish its Agency Plan on the Dashboard; and

(iii) by December 31, 2012, and every 6 months thereafter, report progress
to the CPO on implementing its Agency Plan, as well as specific
opportunities for additional improvements to its permitting and review
procedures.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the
head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
    (c) This order shall be implemented consistent with
Executive Order 13175 of November 6, 2000 (Consultation
and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments) and my
memorandum of November 5, 2009 (Tribal Consultation).
    (d) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.

    (Presidential Sig.)

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    March 22, 2012.