'Getting Stuff Done': Pennsylvania Streamlines Permitting Process For Vital Projects

Government can “move at the speed of business” in a climate where transformative projects often get tied up in an extensive permitting process.

So says Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who signed the PA Permit Fast Track Program into law via an executive order on Tuesday. The program is meant to identify vital economic development and infrastructure initiatives and streamline the administrative process so they can come online sooner.

Developers, entrepreneurs and other project leaders can apply to the program through the state’s website.

“By streamlining permitting processes and focusing on results, we’re not just creating jobs and driving economic growth — we’re getting stuff done for the people of Pennsylvania,” Shapiro, a Democrat, said in a press release announcing the executive order.

“The PA Permit Fast Track Program is a game-changer that enhances coordination and communication between the project sponsor and state agencies to cut through red tape, streamline critical projects, and give businesses the confidence to invest and create jobs here in Pennsylvania.”

The initiative, managed by the Pennsylvania Office of Transformation & Opportunity, has a dashboard where the public can monitor a project’s progress.

So far, there are three projects in the portal, including the Bellwether District in South Philadelphia, where Shapiro unveiled the executive order during an event Tuesday.

The 1,300-acre commercial and industrial complex once housed a Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery site. The 700-acre logistics campus and a 250-acre innovation campus planned for the space are expected to create 19,000 permanent jobs.

Permitting reform is a bipartisan priority in Pennsylvania.

“Our Senate Republican Caucus has long recognized the need to implement meaningful permitting reforms in order to expand job opportunities and grow our economy,” state Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman said in a statement.

Republican lawmakers successfully pushed for provisions that streamline the application process for certain air, water and land disturbance permits in Pennsylvania’s budget, passed in July, Spotlight PA reported.

“While it is unclear how Governor Shapiro’s most recent Executive Order is different from previous legislation spearheaded by Senate Republicans, we welcome the governor and his Democratic colleagues to the table to work together on further initiatives,” Pittman said.

“Executive Orders come and go, which is why we insisted our permitting reform efforts be enshrined in law, as happened back in July.”