PHILADELPHIA— At the site of what he called “one of the most exciting economic development projects in the entire country,” Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday signed an executive order creating the Pennsylvania Permit Fast Track Program.
“Using Fast Track, we’re going to speed up permitting for big, complex, major economic development and infrastructure projects all across Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said Tuesday in South Philadelphia.
Shapiro said that the executive order will direct the Office of Transformation & Opportunity (OTO), headed by Ben Kirshner, to lead the program that will identify major projects that require permits from multiple agencies, like the Bellwether District, where Tuesday’s press conference was held.
The Fast Track program “is designed to help project sponsors better understand and meet permitting requirements, reducing costly delays by coordinating meetings across state agencies and getting sponsors answers to their questions efficiently. Every permit submitted through Fast Track is still subject to the same rigorous review as every other application across the Commonwealth,” according to a release from Shapiro’s office.
“Ultimately, we think Fast Track will bring better permitting experience with far more certainty, more clarity and better results for everyone,” Shapiro said during the press conference. “We’re so confident that… as part of Fast Track, we are launching a publicly facing dashboard where the public will be able to see the timelines for each project and be able to see the permit that it requires to get this done.”
“You can follow along from home at the progress we’re making in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro added. “I think that is unprecedented transparency and accountability in our permitting process. We are not aware of any other state that has a similar initiative to what we are launching here in Pennsylvania today.”
Three economic development projects have been piloted by OTO this year.
The Bellwether District, which was the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery site, will be home to a 1,300 acre commercial and industrial complex. A spokesperson from the HRP Group, the Chicago-based real estate investment firm developing the site, told the Capital-Star that the company plans to create 19,000 permanent jobs over the next 10 to 15 years as a result of the project, as well as 28,000 construction jobs, all union labor, over the same period.
Roberto Perez, CEO of HRP Group, said Tuesday that the company had purchased the Philadelphia Energy Solutions site, which was the largest refinery on the east coast, with the goal of redeveloping it.
He estimated that the company has removed nearly 18 million gallons of hydrocarbon, 950 miles of pipeline, 2200 tons of asbestos, and over 2 million cubic yards of soil.
There are two other projects underway as part of this pilot program. Project Hazelnut in Luzerne County is a 1,300-acre technology campus, while Martinsburg Community Digester in Blair County located at Metzler Farm, will convert manure from over 10 local dairy farms into biogas for UGI’s pipeline, according to the governor’s office.
Shapiro said the three projects in the pilot program were identified by Kirshner.
“It is our hope that as we get rolling on this initiative, it’ll be a two way street that we’ll see projects coming in, oftentimes through DCED and say, You know what? You should be part of the Fast Track system, but we also have made clear we’re open for business,” Shapiro said.
Kirshner said he believes that the tool gives Pennsylvania “a competitive advantage over other states.”
“We talk to businesses all the time, and they tell us, you know, three reasons they choose to move to a state. One is money, two is people, and three is permits,” Kirshner said.
Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) said in a press release Tuesday that the Senate Republican Caucus “has long recognized the need to implement meaningful permitting reforms in order to expand job opportunities and grow our economy. Executive Orders come and go, which is why we insisted our permitting reform efforts be enshrined in law, as happened back in July.”
“While it is unclear how Governor Shapiro’s most recent Executive Order is different from previous legislation spearheaded by Senate Republicans, we welcome the governor and his Democratic colleagues to the table to work together on further initiatives, Pittman added.
The Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative organization, said what Shapiro signed on Tuesday is a “step in the right direction” but added that the executive orders “aren’t a substitute for real regulatory reform.”