Permitting Council Launches First-of-its-Kind Agreement with the State of Alaska to Bring Efficiency to the Permitting of Infrastructure Projects

WASHINGTON (August 27, 2025) – Today, the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) announced a first-of-its-kind agreement with the State of Alaska. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) provides for federal permitting assistance through the Permitting Council’s FAST-41 program, as the state and the federal government work together to streamline the permitting process for critical infrastructure projects across Alaska.

“I am excited to announce that the great State of Alaska is the first state to partner with the Permitting Council, ensuring that the abundance of energy and infrastructure projects in the state can access streamlined permitting,” said Emily Domenech, Permitting Council Executive Director. “Our team is ready to work with Governor Dunleavy to bring Alaska back into the energy spotlight, ending the neglect of the Biden Administration and bringing Alaska’s incredible natural resources to the rest of the world.”

Permitting Council Executive Director Emily Domenech and Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy signed the MOU this morning at the Governor’s Anchorage office. The first-of-its-kind statewide agreement outlines the intention of the state and federal government to work together to identify projects for FAST-41 coverage and transparency status. As part of the agreement, the Permitting Council will provide federal permitting support to select projects in the state, ensuring focused technical assistance, transparency, accountability and predictability in the permitting process. The Permitting Council will provide the State of Alaska with a wide variety of support, including: 

• Assisting the state in determining the FAST-41 eligibility of projects;

• Providing dedicated Permitting Council staff for each covered project, with regularly scheduled coordination calls on at least a monthly basis;

• Developing tools to aid in the implementation of FAST-41, from a unique state FAST-41 application template to fact sheets and other tools;

• Engaging with project sponsors of projects in the state portfolio to provide FAST-41 briefings as requested.

“This agreement is another step toward unlocking Alaska’s full potential,” said Governor Dunleavy. “For too long, federal bureaucracy has delayed responsible resource and infrastructure development within our state. With this agreement, Alaska will have a seat at the table to ensure that federal agencies work hand in hand with the State to deliver timely and transparent permitting decisions.”

Today’s MOU signing is part of a comprehensive state visit to Alaska by the Permitting Council Executive Director, with meetings held with representatives of current FAST-41 projects like Graphite One and Alaska LNG, visits with potential FAST-41 projects, and a speaking engagement at the Alaska Oil and Gas Association Conference. 

Learn more about the Permitting Council at 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), the Permitting Council is a 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.

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