Permitting Council to Host Second Annual Infrastructure Developers Summit

WASHINGTON (May 7, 2025) — The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) is pleased to announce the second annual Infrastructure Developers Summit. This year’s summit will feature a set of four virtual convenings focused on specific priority sectors. Attendees will receive a deep dive into how FAST-41 can improve the efficiency of the permitting process for the sectors that align with their portfolio, gaining valuable insight from federal leaders and industry insiders on how to ensure projects receive an accountable permitting experience.

“I couldn’t be more excited to bring back this innovative summit for infrastructure developers across the country,” said Manisha Patel, Permitting Council Acting Executive Director. “This year’s format focuses on specific priority sectors to allow for in-depth discussions and knowledge sharing that will be invaluable to our pursuit to ensure an efficient and effective review process.”

This year’s series of virtual convenings highlight four distinct sectors: mining; transmission and pipelines; data storage and manufacturing; and ports and waterways. Current and potential project developers, as well as any interested stakeholders from each of these sectors are invited to join with federal permitting experts and industry insiders to discuss best practices and the benefits of FAST-41 coverage for their projects. These summit webinars are the only ones of their kind, featuring the opportunity to interact and collaborate directly with Permitting Council agencies. 

2025 Infrastructure Developers Summit—Webinar Schedule

• June 25th: Mining Sector*

• July 23rd: Transmission and Pipelines

• August 20th: Data Storage and Manufacturing 

• September 24th: Ports and Water Resources

Registration: Link

*Registration for the mining webinar is open now. Stay tuned for registration kickoff for additional webinars.

Press: Event is open to press

Who should attend?

• Infrastructure developers

• Past and current FAST-41 project sponsors 

• State and local governments

• Tribal governments and representatives

• Federal/state agency permitting staff and leadership

• Permitting stakeholders

About the Permitting Council and FAST-41

Established in 2015 by Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41), 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 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.