Making a $1B investment in the US? Trump pledges expedited permits — but there are hurdles

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump is promising expedited federal permits for energy projects and other construction worth more than $1 billion. In a post on his Truth Social site Tuesday, Trump said anyone making a $1 billion investment in the United States “will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals.” “GET READY TO ROCK!! She said the plan was “obviously illegal” and another example of Trump “putting special interests and corporate polluters in the driver’s seat, which would result in more pollution, higher costs and fewer energy choices for the American people.” Alexandra Adams, chief policy advocacy officer at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said Trump should be careful what he wishes for. Energy analyst Kevin Book said Trump’s post showed his usual flair for showmanship but said there was a real concern underlying it: a bipartisan push for permitting reform to speed up major environmental projects that now take years to win approval. He called the bill “a dirty deal” that would exempt some oil and gas drilling projects from federal review and “let mining companies dump even more toxic waste on our public lands.” Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, said Trump’s second term will be a “golden age of regulation-cutting,’' including a promise to “drill, baby, drill.’' “If you want to bring in money, he’s going to move heaven and earth to get that money in the door and get it invested in the United States,’' Miller said Tuesday at a conference organized by the Wall Street Journal.