President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to develop a framework that seeks to speed up the environmental assessment and permitting process for electrical grids, ports, highways and other high-priority infrastructure projects.
Trump signed the executive order weeks after the Obama administration released new guidance that aims to streamline the environmental review and authorization process for federal infrastructure projects in compliance with Title 41 provisions of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act.
The White House said in a news release published Tuesday that Trump also signed a presidential memorandum that would require the Commerce Department secretary to request public comments on how to expedite the federal permitting process for domestic manufacturers.
The president also signed memoranda that would facilitate the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Trump also directed the Commerce secretary under a separate memorandum to submit within 180 days a plan on how to advance the use of U.S.-made equipment and materials in the development, repair and expansion of pipelines.
