Permitting Council Acting Executive Director Releases Quarterly Member Agency Performance Report

WASHINGTON (March 31, 2025) – Today, the Permitting Council Acting Executive Director released the fiscal year 2025 first quarter report to Congress, evaluating federal agency compliance with FAST-41 requirements. The report showcases continued agency progress in bringing efficiency and effectiveness to federal environmental review and authorizations, with three critical infrastructure projects receiving permitting approval during the quarter.

“This quarterly report speaks to the commitment of federal agencies and the Permitting Council to bring transparency, predictability and accountability to federal permitting,” said Manisha Patel, Acting Executive Director. “The coordination and collaboration at the heart of the FAST-41 program sets the standard for the proper management of federal environmental reviews and authorizations. The Permitting Council is working to deliver permitting excellence across the federal agencies to ensure that important infrastructure projects receive an efficient and effective review process.”   

During the first quarter (October – December 2024) there were 32 projects represented in the FAST-41 portfolio, with federal agencies tracking 586 intermediate and final completion dates on the Federal Permitting Dashboard. Agencies continue to complete permitting review actions on schedule, including requirements for updating coordinated project plans and modifications to project timelines in accordance with FAST-41.

Several projects completed federal environmental review and authorizations this quarter, including the Alaska FiberOptic Project Segment 1 and the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line:

• Alaska FiberOptic Project Segment 1: This project will install fiber broadband infrastructure directly to 5 Alaskan Native Villages along the Yukon River, benefitting nearly 600 households. The project sponsor anticipates that this project will aid residents and institutions throughout the communities, creating permanent jobs for Alaska Native and rural residents; bringing new opportunities for distance education, telemedicine, public health and safety; and aiding in rural economic development.

• Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line: The 500-kilovolt Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line will span approximately 300 miles total from a proposed substation near Boardman, Oregon to the Hemingway Substation near Melba, Idaho. The project will provide additional capacity for exchanging energy between the Pacific Northwest and the Intermountain West.

Nine new projects joined the portfolio during the quarter, including two projects aimed at bringing the benefits of broadband technology to rural communities: 

• The Navajo Nation Department of Education E-Rate Funded Broadband Project plans to construct approximately 323 miles of middle mile fiber optic network. This $37 million broadband infrastructure project will connect 17 Head Start entities and 33 libraries with high-speed internet connectivity to speeds of 1 Gbps or greater. 

• The Navajo Nation’s Gallop McKinley County Schools E-Rate Funded Broadband Project proposes to build 65 miles of middle mile fiber optic network. This $3.6 million project will connect the school district with critically needed high speed internet to speeds of 1 Gbps or greater.

Of the 18 milestones scheduled to occur during the quarter, agencies completed 16 and modified the remaining two by submitting timely requests as required by FAST-41, which the Executive Director approved. The quarterly report is now available on permitting.gov.

About the Permitting Council and FAST-41

Established in 2015 by Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41) and made permanent in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Permitting Council is a unique 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 is comprised of the Permitting Council Executive Director, who serves as the Council Chair; 13 federal agency Council members (including deputy secretary-level designees of the Secretaries of Agriculture, Army, Commerce, Interior, Energy, Transportation, Defense, Homeland Security, and Housing and Urban Development, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chairs of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation); and the Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

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 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. The Permitting Council also serves as a federal center for permitting excellence, supporting federal efforts to improve infrastructure permitting including and beyond FAST-41 covered projects to the extent authorized by law, including activities that promote or provide for the efficient, timely, and predictable completion of environmental reviews and authorizations for federally-authorized infrastructure projects.