About Us
Our Mission
We are committed to strengthening the partnership between government, advocates, and industry to deliver the critical infrastructure upgrades America has needed for decades across all sectors. Through the advancement of common-sense improvements TPI gets projects shovel-ready faster, saving taxpayer resources and building a large coalition of diverse entities aligned by common efforts.
Our experience is proof that the process to review and approve project development and construction, from new construction to environmental restoration, can avoid adversity and lengthy delays. Improved communication and process clarity can better align project developers with the public officials charged with protecting natural and cultural resources.
We elevate win-win policies, employ targeted messaging, and champion best practices to make “the removal of red tape” less about politics and more about progress toward economic and environmental goals. We drive the cultivation of a new generation of regulators who value innovative solutions to the problems that have delayed decades of benefits for our communities.
Industry Sectors History of Results State Permitting Councils
Tribal Engagement and Nation Building Economic Development and Environmental Justice Conservation and Climate Change
“When Alex led the implementation of the FAST Act in the last Administration, he was very helpful in reducing permitting time for a major environmental restoration project in Louisiana from an initial 10 years to a little over 3 years - while preserving public participation and not compromising environmental standards. Alex and The Permitting Institute can play a significant role in ensuring timely permitting of infrastructure projects that are so vital to rebuilding our economy better.”
- Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Former United States Senator
Who We Serve
The Permitting Institute is a Washington, D.C., based nonprofit association serving as the nation’s central resource and leading advocate for infrastructure permitting process improvements. We offer members access to strategic cross-sector tools and services to support their effort and investment in rebuilding America’s infrastructure. TPI works alongside all stakeholders, including project developers, trade associations, non-governmental and advocacy organizations, and government officials at the federal, state, local, Tribal and municipal levels, to identify the critical issues and deliver a path forward.
For too long, unnecessarily complex rules, constant shifts in policy, and inconsistent enforcement have prevented the standardization of the predictable permitting landscape Americans deserve. The Permitting Institute works with our members to identify the best combination of advocacy services and permitting tools needed to clear a path through bureaucratic obstacles and systemic sources of project delays.
The unparalleled cross-functional expertise of the TPI team accelerates investment in our national infrastructure and provides lasting social, environmental, and economic benefits to states, local communities, Tribes and small businesses.
Industry Sectors
Our work impacts and supports various industries, including:
Surface transportation and aviation, including roads, bridges, transit, railroads, airports, and electric vehicle charging networks
Ports and waterways, including navigational channels
Energy production and generation, including from fossil, renewable, nuclear, and hydro sources
Water resource projects, including coastal restoration, water supply and flood control
Electricity transmission
Broadband internet
Pipelines, including oil, gas, water, sewer
Clean drinking and waste water infrastructure
Mining and critical minerals
Manufacturing
Commercial, industrial, and residential construction, including affordable housing
Land revitalization, including redevelopment of previously developed, contaminated, or abandoned land and formerly used industrial or defense sites
A successful project aligns conservation, climate, cultural, community and economic priorities.
State Permitting Councils
Currently, only a few states employ coordinated interagency permitting programs, and most of these programs are limited to a particular sector and do not offer a comprehensive plan to serve all infrastructure projects and align all agency reviews. The current process to get a project started costs too much and takes too long—the 2-3 year federal timelines get much of the attention, but an additional 2-3 years of state and local wait time often follows the completion of their federal paperwork. These reviews can and should be done concurrently but projects routinely pay the price for poor communication and uncertainties that filter down to state, Tribal and local governments with their own permitting responsibilities.
TPI supports the growing list of states developing state permitting councils and dashboards that offer greater transparency, predictability, and permitting process efficiency. Aligning critical approvals at the state, Tribal, and local level will assist large infrastructure projects that are currently dependent on a complicated maze of decisions at several levels of government.
The benefits of State Permitting Councils:
Creates and communicates a realistic and coordinated permitting timetable across federal, state, tribal, and local levels to reduce duplicative work, unnecessary delays, and cost overruns.
Aligns federal, state, tribal, and local entities through concurrent environmental reviews and authorizations.
Establishes a central point of contact within a state and prioritizes accountability and efficiency to manage project timetables and authorization deadlines.
Identifies systemic causes of delay and ensures early outreach and transparency to public and private stakeholders.
Creates jobs and economic opportunity by attracting public and private investment in new projects.
Publicly displays updated permitting timetables and causes for delay to provide stakeholders and members of the public the ability to track the status of state permitting activities in real-time.
Advances environmental clean-up, restoration and revitalization projects that reduce pollution and expand access to nature.
Tribal Engagement and Nation Building
Tribal sovereignty and the continued development and growth of Native American industries will require increased infrastructure independence. Federal gatekeepers have never understood or acknowledged Tribal priorities for the use, protection and stewardship of native lands and heritage areas. A new approach must admit past transgressions and reset relations in order to strengthen government-to-government partnerships and foster trust between sovereign nations. By doing so, Tribal and Federal stakeholders will benefit from long-term infrastructure development opportunities that can support the livelihood, well-being, and long-term economic health of Tribal Nations across America.
By supporting their sovereignty in the permitting process, TPI will provide a foundation of fairness upon which to build stronger, lasting bonds between Tribal governments and private investment across a variety of industry sectors - including:
Hydroelectric Power
Water Infrastructure
Broadband Internet
Mineral Resources
Wind Energy
Geothermal
Energy Storage and Transmission
As these opportunities are developed, TPI’s commitment to transparency will provide the appropriate public advocacy aperture for Tribal priorities as we re-engineer the federal permitting process. TPI’s legislative agenda strengthens existing environmental, historic, and cultural protections available to Tribes, reduces the role of redundant government gatekeepers, and develops a steady stream of investment opportunities for Tribes to capitalize their infrastructure projects.
A new approach must admit past transgressions and reset relations in order to strengthen government-to-government partnerships and foster trust between sovereign nations.
Economic Development and Environmental Justice
TPI doesn’t take sides in seeking a streamlined permitting process. A faster, more efficient, and less-bloated bureaucracy will bring benefits to all parties involved - the environment, our economy, and our communities. TPI builds common ground with project proponents and opponents - and anyone else who supports common-sense reforms that save taxpayer dollars, preserve our environmental resources, and empower local stakeholders.
TPI is committed to creating a big-tent coalition woven from the fabric of America - everyone has a seat at this table and a voice in driving decisions that deliver benefits. By strengthening transparency and accessibility across the project development process, TPI will clear obstacles to economic growth for underserved and vulnerable communities often overlooked in the project development process.
TPI transcends politics to focus on permitting’s impact on people. We’re breaking the mold of past associations that played favorites with party affiliation and pandered to politicians for access to information and influence. TPI advocacy and outreach efforts help increase local influence to determine the correct course of action on projects while solving for social impacts relative to race, income, ethnicity and geographic location.
Conservation and Climate Change
We must accelerate deployment of clean energy, expand conservation, and restore natural barriers to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. But to reach the climate and clean energy goals on the timeline recommended by scientists, we must also improve our permitting process.
Every project that turns dirt, disturbs habitat, or alters a landscape puts people in unavoidable conflict with nature. The good news is that conservation, climate, cultural, community and economic incentives can be aligned. In our experience, projects are successful when impacts are transparently identified and fairly addressed among stakeholders seeking consensus.
Roads, bridges, transit and railway projects must reach underserved communities, advance climate action, and protect public health. Dangerous drinking and wastewater systems must be replaced as quickly as possible. Outdated electricity grids must be made more efficient and resilient in the face of extreme weather. Remediation and revitalization must eliminate pollution and expand access to green spaces.
TPI members champion progress and responsible management of our resources. We seek to achieve long-term conservation strategies, mitigate climate impacts, and restore natural ecosystems by leveraging billions in new infrastructure investment to the benefits of communities, especially for people most affected by pollution.