Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – This week, the House of Representatives is scheduled to consider H.R. 3898, the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act, led by Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Mike Collins (R-GA) and Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO). This legislation cuts red tape, reduces costly project delays and litigation, and makes permitting under the Clean Water Act (CWA) more efficient, consistent, and transparent.

The PERMIT Act is a package of many separate reform proposals that were previously introduced by Chairman Collins and other T&I Committee members, including Reps. Rick Crawford (R-AR), David Rouzer (R-NC), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Pete Stauber (R-MN), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Burgess Owens (R-UT), Eric Burlison (R-MO), Jeff Hurd (R-CO), Jefferson Shreve (R-IN), Dave Taylor (R-OH), and Jimmy Patronis (R-FL).

Approved by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on June 25, 2025, with the support of many industry leaders and stakeholders, support for the PERMIT Act commonsense reforms has only continued to grow. Statements and letters of support from over 60 groups include:

Waters Advocacy Coalition, which includes American Exploration & Mining Association, American Exploration & Production Council, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Forest & Paper Association, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, American Gas Association, American Petroleum Institute,   American Public Power Association, American Road & Transportation Builders Association, Associated Builders and Contractors, Leading Builders of America, ICSC, Independent Petroleum Association of America, Liquid Energy Pipeline Association, National Asphalt Pavement Association, National Association of Home Builders, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, National Federation of Independent Business, National Mining Association, National Multifamily Housing Council, National Pork Producers Council, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, RISE (Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment), Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association, The Fertilizer Institute, Treated Wood Council, USA Rice, U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “WAC represents a cross-section of the nation’s construction, transportation, real estate, mining, manufacturing, forestry, agriculture, energy, wildlife conservation, and public health and safety sectors―all of which are vital to a thriving national economy and provide much-needed jobs in local communities…. This legislation is essential to providing clarity and certainty within the Clean Water Act (CWA) permitting process for landowners and other regulated entities across the country.” (read the full letter)

Aluminum Association: “American aluminum can’t grow without a permitting system that is timely, predictable, and transparent. Our industry is inherently energy-intensive and depends on affordable, reliable power to build and modernize facilities, expand recycling, and connect new generation and transmission to the grid. The Aluminum Association supports the PERMIT Act, which will streamline the permit process and allow the domestic aluminum industry to build on the historic investment of the last decade. Put simply, smarter permitting means more U.S. metal, more resilient supply chains, and more good-paying American jobs.”

American Cement Association, National Asphalt Pavement Association, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association: “This legislative package offers essential, common-sense reforms that reduce the construction materials industry’s costly and unpredictable permitting delays. These bills protect operators from regulatory overreach and procedural abuse by establishing clear jurisdictional boundaries and predictable timelines, often resulting in unnecessary project slowdowns or cancellations. This certainty is critical to meeting growing national demands for the industries supplying the foundational materials for America’s roads, bridges, energy systems, and other infrastructure.” (read the full letter)

American Exploration & Mining Association: “This package of reforms will greatly help to place the United States on a path to a more secure mineral supply chain, while enhancing the effectiveness of CWA programs that serve to protect our nation’s waters.” (read the full letter)

American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cattleman’s Beef Association, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Milk Producers Federation, National Pork Producers Council, National Turkey Federation, United Egg Producers, U.S. Poultry & Egg Association: “Clean water is essential to the viability of all agricultural operations and farmers go to great lengths to protect the natural resources with which they have been entrusted. However, the current permitting framework under the CWA often presents unnecessary delays, regulatory uncertainty, and administrative burdens that hinder agricultural production, conservation, and environmentally beneficial projects.” (read the full letter)

American Mosquito Control Association: “This legislation will eliminate costly, duplicative, and unnecessary Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements that impact our members' ability to adequately control mosquitoes.” (read the full letter)

American Pipeline Contractors Association: “Provisions of the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure for Today (PERMIT) Act (H.R. 3898) will modernize the cumbersome federal permitting system and improve America’s infrastructure and energy dominance agenda.” (read the full letter)

American Public Gas Association: “For public gas systems, permitting reform is central to maintaining their ability to deliver energy affordably and reliably while also meeting the rapidly increasing demand for natural gas.” (read the full letter)

American Road & Transportation Builders Association: “These reforms collectively offer targeted, practical upgrades to a system that, too often, delays essential transportation projects for little to no environmental value…. If enacted, these bills would not diminish environmental safeguards. Instead, they would modernize the permitting framework by restoring balance, transparency, and certainty needed to deliver projects on time, on budget, and in full compliance with the law.” (read the full letter)

Associated Builders and Contractors: “The PERMIT Act, as amended, contains much-needed, commonsense reforms to the Clean Water Act that promote transparency and certainty for landowners and project sponsors and ensures that approved projects move forward on time.” (read the full letter)

Associated General Contractors of America: “[T]hank you for holding today’s markup on legislation to streamline the Clean Water Act (CWA). AGC appreciates the leadership shown by the committee in advancing common sense reforms to improve CWA permitting.” (read the full letter)

California Association of Sanitation Agencies: “CASA agencies take seriously their role as leaders in protecting the public health and the environment. However, today’s water quality needs are becoming increasingly challenging and permit requirements, as a result, are becoming increasingly complex.” (read the full letter)

Competitive Enterprise Institute: “Too many discussions regarding permitting reform focus solely on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). But permitting reform is much broader than NEPA. It also requires updating laws like the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. To Rep. Collins and the co-sponsors’ credit, they apparently recognize this critical point.” (read the full letter)

Council of Producers and Distributors of Agrotechnology: “We applaud the Committee for its leadership in advancing this package and recognizing the need to streamline regulatory requirements in a manner that maintains environmental protections while reducing unnecessary red tape. Clarifying that FIFRA-compliant pesticide applications do not require additional NPDES permits under the Clean Water Act is a commonsense solution.” (read the full letter)

Essential Minerals Association: “We support reasonable and appropriate measures to protect important water resources, but in recent years, we have seen federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) grossly overreach beyond their authorities to impose increasingly burdensome regulatory regimes.” (read the full letter)

Florida Mosquito Control Association: “Eliminating the need for an additional NPDES permit reduces

administrative costs and paperwork at the state and local levels, freeing up valuable resources that can be redirected to field operations and disease prevention efforts…. The bill preserves key environmental safeguards under FIFRA, ensuring continued oversight of pesticide use and accountability for misuse or spill events.” (read the full letter)

Forest Landowners Association: “The PERMIT Act takes important steps to reduce regulatory uncertainty under the Clean Water Act while maintaining core environmental protections. By improving transparency, clarifying permitting requirements, and setting reasonable timelines, the bill provides landowners with greater confidence and predictability when managing their land.” (read the full statement)

Golf Course Superintendents Association of America: “This legislation addresses clarity, consistency, and transparency concerns with the Clean Water Act (CWA) permitting process.” (read the full letter)

Independent Electrical Contractors: “Provisions of the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure for Today (PERMIT) Act (H.R. 3898) will modernize the cumbersome federal permitting system and improve America’s infrastructure, manufacturing, and energy dominance agenda.” (read the full letter)

Interstate Natural Gas Association of America: “INGAA and the companies we represent stand ready to work in a bipartisan manner to enact the PERMIT Act, which would promote permitting certainty and predictability under the CWA and enable development of the energy infrastructure necessary to continue delivering the benefits of natural gas to the American people.” (read the full letter)

Institute of Makers of Explosives: “By advancing commonsense reforms, the PERMIT Act helps ensure that the permitting process supports, not stifles, responsible economic development, while still upholding important environmental and safety protections.” (read the full statement)

Modesto Irrigation District and Turlock Irrigation District: “This legislation represents a much-needed reform to Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) that would restore clarity, accountability, and discipline to the water quality certification process for federally licensed infrastructure projects.” (read the full letter)

Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia: “MEAG Power and our Participants depend on the predictability and efficiency of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) permitting process for our generation, transmission, and distribution system growth. H.R. 3898 would bring much-needed certainty to the CWA permitting regime….” (read the full letter)

National Association of Home Builders: “Regrettably, housing production is not keeping pace with demand. Among the significant headwinds facing the home building industry is an unpredictable regulatory landscape that adds costs and reduces the availability of buildable lots—making housing more unattainable…. Confidence in the CWA permitting regime is a cornerstone to building more housing supply.” (read the full letter)

National Association of Manufacturers: “Manufacturers are building the case for commonsense permitting reforms as part of a comprehensive manufacturing strategy that will unleash American competitiveness. In a 2024 survey of manufacturers, 72 percent of respondents said that the length and complexity of the permitting process affected their investment decisions. If we want to grow America’s economy, we need to fix this broken system.” (read the full letter)

National Hydropower Association: “For too long, certifying authorities have leveraged the certification process to delay and deny the licensing of hydropower projects for reasons unrelated to any water quality effects of the discharges from those projects. These commonsense improvements will ensure that hydropower and other energy projects receive timely water quality certifications while maintaining Section 401’s core purpose of allowing certifying authorities to ensure that discharges from federally licensed or permitted projects meet the requirements of the CWA.” (read the full letter)

National Marine Manufacturers Association: “NMMA appreciates the appropriate steps H.R. 3898 takes to balance the health of our ecosystems while ensuring our marine industry can thrive. We urge the House of Representatives to swiftly pass this important bill.” (read the full letter)

National Mining Association: “Together, these bills take meaningful steps to restore fairness, transparency and efficiency to the CWA permitting process—without compromising environmental standards. The mining industry stands ready to meet the nation’s energy and supply chain needs, and these reforms will help ensure U.S. projects are permitted responsibly and predictably.” (read the full letter)

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association: “Reliable and affordable electricity is essential to America’s economic growth…. It is essential that federal permitting programs – including those under the CWA – are implemented as intended by Congress and do not unnecessarily delay or hinder critical infrastructure projects essential to delivering electricity to homes, businesses, and farms across the country.” (read the full letter)

National Utility Contractors Association: “Fixing the broken permitting process used to build our nation’s infrastructure projects must be a top priority for Congress. Too many of our industry’s projects run into seemingly endless delays caused by uncertain timelines, driving up costs.” (read the full statement)

Natural Gas Supply Association: “As has been widely acknowledged, in recent years, the CWA has been weaponized to thwart much-needed infrastructure projects. This legislation will provide regulatory certainty and streamline the permitting process, all while continuing to protect our vital water resources.” (read the full statement)

Power and Communication Contractors Association: “PCCA appreciates House leadership and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee members for advancing commonsense permitting reforms in the PERMIT Act that will result in more broadband and electric infrastructure benefitting all Americans.” (read the full letter)

Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment: “For far too long, the permitting process has been marked by regulatory confusion and redundant requirements that ultimately hinder, rather than help, effective environmental protection…. We commend the leadership of the Committee and the bill sponsors for advancing a package that restores clarity, upholds science-based regulation, and reinforces the role of state and local decision-makers in water quality protection.” (read the full letter)

The Fertilizer Institute: “The ANS includes several common-sense policies to bring needed clarity, consistency, transparency and fairness to the Clean Water Act (CWA) permitting process all while maintaining law’s important protections for water quality and natural resources.” (read the full letter)

U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “Streamlining and modernizing our federal permitting systems is intrinsically linked to fostering economic growth. A more transparent and efficient permitting process will facilitate the timely construction of quality infrastructure, which in turn will help create jobs and grow the economy.” (read the full letter)

More information about the PERMIT Act is available here.