Permitting Council Tours FAST-41 Covered Sparrows Point Container Terminal Project

WASHINGTON (September 8, 2025) – Representatives from the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) toured the Sparrows Point Container Terminal (SPCT) project today, as Trump Administration officials take a closer look at projects covered under the Permitting Council’s FAST-41 permitting program. If permitted, the $1 billion port project is expected to bring thousands of jobs to the Baltimore area as it expands the Port of Baltimore service for the Mediterranean Shipping Company, the world’s largest container carrier company.

“Today’s tour was a great opportunity to gain insight into the permitting challenges experienced by project sponsors working to advance our nation’s ports and waterways,” said Emily Domenech, Permitting Council Executive Director. “We are proud to support projects like Sparrows Point that aim to strengthen American infrastructure. I extend my gratitude to the Tradepoint Atlantic team for the behind-the-scenes look into the work they are pursuing to expand and restore our nation's capabilities in the global trade market.”  

The Sparrows Point Container Terminal is a proposed 330-acre redevelopment project within Sparrows Point, Maryland, consisting of 168 acres for a new container terminal and intermodal yard. If permitted, this project will be a major growth opportunity for Maryland and the Baltimore region, transforming the Baltimore port from a regional to a national hub while covering all of the east coast through the Midwest.

By meeting the capacity of the Mediterranean Shipping Company, SPCT has the ability to not only create thousands of new port-related jobs, but also stimulate economic growth in the region. This project site was once home to Bethlehem Steel, an employment powerhouse in Baltimore that provided thousands of well-paying jobs. The loss of the plant was one of the hardest economic hits in Baltimore history, and now has the opportunity to transform into a prosperous hub with the port’s revitalization.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers serves as the lead agency for this project. Learn more about the Sparrows Point Container Terminal project on the Federal Permitting Dashboard. 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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