Evaluating environmental permitting process duration: the case of clean water act Section 404 permits

Permits are a critical tool for ensuring that infrastructure projects provide the benefits they promise without harming nearby people or the environment. However, the environmental permitting process is complex, often resulting in long review times and increased administrative costs. Identifying ways to hasten permitting processes without compromising environmental rigor is important for enabling efficient and effective infrastructure regulation. This paper evaluates the relationship between permitting duration and characteristics of the projects, applicant organizations, and regulatory regime, using a novel dataset of US Clean Water Act permits. Longer review time was associated with projects proposed by a business (rather than state or federal agencies); using an engineering consultant; requiring some combination of environmental impact analysis, historic preservation, and/or endangered species review; and located in Arizona. Project type, agency workload, and socioeconomic characteristics did not correlate with review time.