Easing the Permitting Process for Clean Industrial Projects in California

This briefing by RMI outlines the challenges and potential solutions for the industrial permitting process in California, specifically for clean industrial projects like hydrogen production and carbon dioxide removal. It argues that while the current decentralized system provides necessary environmental and community safeguards, it also creates 'nonproductive friction' that delays or cancels critical decarbonization projects. The document provides strategic recommendations for both permit-seekers and state policymakers to streamline approvals without compromising safety or environmental justice.

• California's industrial permitting process is highly decentralized, involving local, state, and federal levels of government. Local permits are managed by hundreds of city and county-level authority-having jurisdictions (AHJs), while state permits are split among 35 local Air Districts, nine local Water Boards, and 81 Certified Unified Program Agencies (CUPA). This structure makes increasing staff capacity difficult because it would require hiring hundreds of staffers across various local budgets rather than a few at a central agency.
• The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is identified as a major source of 'nonproductive friction,' with approvals often taking over a year and sometimes three or more years. RMI suggests improving CEQA through legislative action by removing redundancies with other permits (such as Title V Air Quality Permits), expanding categorical exemptions to match the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), or limiting certain legal challenges.
• Permitting delays disproportionately affect startups and 'insurgent technologies' compared to incumbent, dirtier technologies, as startups often lack the financial resources to hold land for years while awaiting approvals. This risk may lead companies to cancel projects or deploy them outside of California.
• RMI recommends that permit-seekers reduce delays by prioritizing sites already zoned for industrial use, engaging in proactive community communication beyond legal requirements, and utilizing third-party engineering firms to validate safety plans for novel technologies to reassure permitting offices.
• For policymakers, the briefing suggests that the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) should develop more industry-specific permitting guidebooks for emerging technologies like carbon dioxide removal and hydrogen production to standardize processes across the state.
• There is a proposal to investigate the centralization of permitting for first-of-a-kind technologies, allowing local jurisdictions to outsource permitting to state agencies or private contractors when they lack the bandwidth or technical expertise, provided community oversight is maintained.
• Existing permit-smoothing legislation, such as AB 1236 and AB 970, has successfully reduced wait times for specific infrastructure like hydrogen fueling stations. However, projects are still delayed by ancillary permits for non-core features like retail amenities or retaining walls.

APA

RMI (2025). Easing the Permitting Process for Clean Industrial Projects in California. https://rmi.org/resources/easing-the-permitting-process-for-clean-industrial-projects-in-california/

Chicago

RMI. Easing the Permitting Process for Clean Industrial Projects in California. 2025. https://rmi.org/resources/easing-the-permitting-process-for-clean-industrial-projects-in-california/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Easing the Permitting Process for Clean Industrial Projects in California |date=2 January 2025 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/easing-the-permitting-process-for-clean-industrial-projects-in-california/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2025easing, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Easing the Permitting Process for Clean Industrial Projects in California}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/easing-the-permitting-process-for-clean-industrial-projects-in-california/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }