U.S. Chamber Applauds Minnesota Efforts to Streamline Permitting Process and Create Jobs
Action Comes as U.S. Chamber Prepares to Release Study Showing Stalled Energy Projects Costing American Economy Trillions in GDP and Millions of Jobs
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today praised Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton for signing into law legislation that streamlines the state’s permitting process and will assist responsible businesses who want to locate or expand in Minnesota. This decision by the Governor comes as the U.S. Chamber prepares to release a study this Thursday that identifies the economic impact and jobs that could be created in 49 states if the regulatory red tape and permitting delays were removed from stalled energy projects.
“With this decision, Minnesota is leading the way on improving the permitting process,” said William Kovacs, U.S. Chamber senior vice president of Environment, Technology and Regulatory Affairs. “In Minnesota alone, our study identified five stalled energy projects that are costing the state’s economy $12.8 billion in GDP and 21,100 jobs a year during the construction phase. No longer will Minnesota businesses be subject to the ‘green-tape’ bureaucracy in which some environmental activists and their allies use every resource at their disposal to block, delay, or cancel job-creating clean energy projects.”
“The initiative was a long-term priority for us,” Minnesota Chamber President David Olson said. “This legislation maintains the state’s strong environmental standards while also streamlining a process which was cumbersome and unfriendly to the customer. Its passage sends a strong signal that Minnesota is intent on building its economy.”
On the heels of Minnesota’s new law, the U.S. Chamber will release a report this Thursday entitled Project Denied: The Potential Economic Impact of Permitting Challenges Facing Proposed Energy Projects. This report will estimate the loss in economic value nationwide and details the economic output and jobs that could be created on a state-by-state basis if businesses could act on these stagnant projects. The report contains an independent economic analysis of projects in the Chamber’s Project No Project initiative, which catalogs energy projects that were delayed or stopped by a chaotic permitting process that is limiting the nation’s ability to produce the energy needed to create jobs at home and to remain internationally competitive.
“We just want to see something get built,” said Kovacs. “Moving forward on a significant number of these stalled projects could mean millions of jobs and could do wonders for our economy. It’s our hope other states follow Minnesota’s lead and act now to remove unreasonable project obstacles so America can remain competitive with the rest of the world.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.
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