South Carolina needs federal permitting reform
June 3, 2024
By Adam B. Jones
Executive Director
American Council of Engineering Consultants of South Carolina
Senator Lindsey Graham played an important role in passing strong, commonsense infrastructure legislation that is helping drive economic investments in communities throughout South Carolina and nationwide. Now, to maximize the return on those investments, the Senator should throw his support behind bipartisan permitting reform in Congress that would help construction, building, and engineering firms move a slate of critical, economy-growing infrastructure projects forward more efficiently.
The American Council of Engineering Companies of South Carolina strongly supports long-overdue reform of our nation’s cumbersome federal permitting and review processes. Our member companies often find themselves hamstrung by onerous regulations and overlapping, and in some cases conflicting, permitting requirements that can vary wildly depending on the jurisdictions in which a given infrastructure project is based.
In today’s current regulatory environment, our nation’s broken, inefficient permitting process creates massive delays that can stop much-needed infrastructure improvements from moving forward in a timely manner. Not only do these delays prevent the actual, physical design and construction of new infrastructure, but they can also add years to a project’s timeline, increase costs, and create new risks for investors.
Until meaningful reforms are made, the federal permitting process will continue to prevent South Carolina communities from feeling the full benefits of infrastructure investments, including more jobs, business growth, increased economic activity, and quality-of-life improvements. Senator Graham should use his leadership role to help support House-passed permitting reform in the Senate and unleash the full potential of the investments he made possible through the bipartisan infrastructure law.
Adam B. Jones is the Executive Director of the American Council of Engineering Consultants of South Carolina.
