Moving to improve permitting efficiency

The Obama administration has launched two new initiatives to improve the efficiency of permitting for oil and gas projects.

On Aug. 30 the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement announced the implementation of new tools within its online permit application system. Fact sheets, guidance material and a checklist within the agency’s system will reduce processing delays by helping applicants ensure that they have submitted accurate and complete exploration plans and development operation coordination documents, BOEMRE says. And, using the online system, operators will now be able to track their application’s progress.

“Recently, we have been asked to identify the most common errors and the most frequently encountered reasons for plan and permit applications to be returned to operators,” said BOEMRE Director Michael Bromwich. “Our goal is to reduce the amount of back and forth with plan and permit applications and to help the industry learn from the best practices that many operators have developed to submit successful applications.” And on Aug. 31 President Obama’s Council on Environmental Quality announced a project to implement two new computer tools, first developed by the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service, to improve the efficiency of federal environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act. The new tools, implemented under a broader program to improve NEPA efficiency, will enable the online submission and processing of public comments on NEPA documents, and will enable the coordination of review timelines, data and documents across government agencies and jurisdictions.

“Deploying these information technology tools and others like them will promote faster and more effective federal decisions on projects that create jobs, grow our economy, and protect the health and environment of our communities.” said Nancy Sutley, chair of the Council on Environmental Quality.

—Alan Bailey