BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) – Congressman Bill Johnson, R- 6th District, was in town Tuesday talking about permit reform.
Members of the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 396 and Building A Better America Coalition, along with other leaders in the industry met at the UA Local 396 HVAC Training Center in Boardman.
The group says the process to get permits for energy projects can take too long. Those on the panel say it is a bipartisan issue.
“Most of these projects are big money projects. You can tie up a company’s capital for years under the hopes they’re going to get a permit and then find out that there’s been a change in administration or something like that, and they end up not getting it,” Johnson said.
Johnsons said it’s important to keep talking about it, holding hearings and pushing back on those who want to implement the rules that are slowing the permitting process.
Marty Loney, with Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 396 said pipefitters, said people want to work and the process is too slow.
“The things that we are seeing is we start seeing projects being announced and then the permits take so long to get people to work, and we hear questions all the time on when are going to be able to get out and work?” Loney said.
Loney said they have to start looking at how they can use some of the money released in the bipartisan infrastructure bill now instead of waiting on permits to get important infrastructure projects done.
