Press Releases
Peltola Cosponsors Bill to Streamline Federal Permitting Process
Washington,
June 18, 2024
|
Kaitlin Hooker
Washington, D.C. — Today, Representative Mary Sattler Peltola (AK-AL) cosponsored the Full Responsibility and Expedited Enforcement (FREE) Act to streamline the federal permitting process by instituting a ‘permit-by-rule’ (PBR) system. This legislation was co-introduced by Representative Celeste Maloy (UT-02) and Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05). “Living in Alaska all my life, and meeting with Alaskans about stalled projects every week, it's clear that we need a change to our federal permitting process—one that will cut government red tape for good. Our FREE act’s permit-by-rule system will create jobs, boost Alaskan projects, and expedite disaster relief" said Rep. Mary Peltola. The FREE Act directs federal agencies to evaluate their permits and report to Congress within 240 days with an assessment of whether permit-by-rule can replace their current systems or make a thorough justification why not. Agencies must then adopt PBR within 12 months for the eligible permits. Under permit-by-rule, agencies must grant all permit applications that meet objective permit standards within 30 days. Agencies can still deny applicants that do not meet requirements and may verify compliance.
“A large portion of my career has been spent helping Utahns work through burdensome federal permitting processes,” said Rep. Maloy. “Permit applications are often inconsistent and lack clear timelines. The FREE Act offers some long overdue relief, streamlining permits to make them more manageable and predictable. Utah businesses and local governments will benefit from this improvement.” Further Summary can be found here. Full text of the legislation can be found here. ### |