The City of Portland Streamlining Team: A Case Study in Coordinating Environmental Compliance

In February 2017, ELI released a background paper on “Fast-Tracking ‘Good’ Restoration Projects in the Gulf of Mexico,” which focused on mechanisms that are available to fast-track restoration projects that are subject to federal environmental compliance requirements. In that paper, we noted that environmental compliance often requires the participation of several government agencies – federal, state, and local – and the efficiency of compliance procedures can be improved by early, effective coordination among the various agencies involved. This case study looks at Portland, Oregon, where a group of federal, state, and local agencies formed a “Streamlining Team” to coordinate environmental compliance for City of Portland development projects, resulting in a more efficient permitting process and strengthened relationships between the agencies.