Imagine you’re running late for a flight. You get into the TSA line, which snakes longer than expected. People fumble with their countless carry-ons, one person argues about the “new” twenty-year-old liquid restriction, and you worry you’ll miss your departure—yet you wouldn’t skip the safety checks. That’s what permitting often feels like: urgent projects—mines, transmission lines, power generation—are waiting for security to clear while the line moves at a snail’s pace.

National leaders and state governments increasingly recognize that we need to open more “TSA Pre-Check lanes” in our permitting process. In Idaho, the Strategic Permitting, Efficiency, and Economic Development Executive Order (the “Idaho SPEED Act”) tried to do just that. At the federal level, Executive Orders (“EO”) 14,241 and 14,285 are expanding fast-track permitting lanes to critical-mineral projects via FAST-41. Congress is weighing in too, with its own proposed SPEED Act. This article takes you through those developments (current as of the date of this submission), shares what’s already moving (some mines are now in FAST-41), and discusses the challenge of speeding up projects while maintaining environmental and climate protections.

Federal Action: Executive Orders, FAST-41, and Visible Movement

10 years ago, Congress enacted Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act. Title 41 of this Act—known as FAST-41—created a coordinated process for major federal projects. Think of it like a CLEAR lane at the airport: the security screening still happens, but with streamlined scheduling, clearer accountability, and frequent status updates—getting you through faster without cutting corners.[1] Yet critical mineral projects were largely excluded from the express lane.

To address this, on March 20, 2025, Executive Order 14241, Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production, declared mineral development a national priority and directed federal agencies to prioritize and accelerate permitting for critical mineral projects by enhancing interagency coordination, removing procedural bottlenecks, and leveraging existing authorities to shorten review times.[2] With clear milestones and strengthened collaboration, the EO seeks to fast-track previously slow-moving projects to support national supply chain resilience and security objectives.

On April 24, 2025, Executive Order 14285, Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources, extended this urgency to seabed minerals.[3] Agencies were told to coordinate, expedite exploration, and support offshore processing.

The Critiques: Deep-Sea Mining and Environmental Guardrails

Not everyone is cheering on the faster pace. Deep-sea mining, in particular, has sparked concern among marine scientists and environmental advocates. The ocean floor contains critical minerals but extracting them could disrupt fragile ecosystems that play a role in carbon sequestration and biodiversity.[4] If permitting timelines compress without sufficient environmental safeguards, opponents fear irreversible harm.[5]

Similarly, climate change advocates warn that “speed” should not be code for reduced oversight. Building out critical-mineral capacity for renewable energy is essential—but so is ensuring that the process aligns with greenhouse-gas reduction goals and avoids displacing communities or damaging watersheds. The challenge is to have the equivalent of TSA Pre-Check: faster processing for those prepared and vetted, not skipping the metal detector entirely.

Results: Moving Projects Along

Since these EOs, several domestic critical-mineral projects (including some in Idaho) have earned FAST-41 “covered” status.[6] That means they now pass through a better-managed process—still thorough, but less winding.

State Action: Idaho’s SPEED Council—Paper Plans, No Fuel

In Idaho, Governor Brad Little created the SPEED Council on January 24, 2025, to streamline permitting for energy and infrastructure projects, with interagency timetables and a single coordinating body.[7] It was a move to open a new express lane in the state’s “security line.”

But when the 2025 Legislature adjourned, funding for the Council wasn’t approved.[8] The express lane is drafted—but there’s no backing to hire staff or convene the Council. The intent is clear, but the power to run it is missing.

Even unfunded, the SPEED Council shows Idaho is primed for action. Should federal momentum continue, once the legislature funds it, Idaho could align with national “express lane” practices—making the wait less painful for developers and regulators alike.

Federal SPEED Act: Codifying the Express Lane

In July 2025, Reps. Westerman (R-AR) and Golden (D-ME) introduced the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (“SPEED”) Act (H.R. 4776).[9] Key features include limiting NEPA review strictly to impacts directly connected to the project, enforcing deadlines for agency decisions, and encouraging courts to defer to agencies that meet those timelines.

If passed, SPEED would codify the expedited process into law, giving it legal staying power. Critics warn, however, that narrowing NEPA scope could overlook indirect but significant environmental impacts.[10]

Why Speed and Safety Must Coexist: From TSA Nightmares to Pre-Check Efficiency

America’s challenge with mineral development and energy infrastructure isn’t a shortage of capital or good ideas—it’s sluggish governance and cumbersome processes that slow essential projects. Mining and clean energy development depend on timely, yet thoughtful, action. The key is creating the right “express lane” approach: fast, predictable permitting timelines paired with robust environmental review. Speed should not come at the expense of the environment or climate goals.

Policymakers are starting to recognize this need. Idaho’s SPEED Council, federal Executive Orders, FAST-41 designations, and the proposed SPEED Act all reflect efforts to open speedier permitting lanes. But achieving speed isn’t about blasting through the line recklessly, it’s about making the process fair, robust, and swift by eliminating unnecessary delays and improving coordination.

The next step for Idaho is clear: fund the SPEED Council so it can build capacity, publish clear permitting timelines, and synchronize state efforts with federal schedules. For practitioners, success means preparing detailed yet nimble permitting records, so when the “express lane” opens, projects glide through smoothly.

In short, the goal should be a permitting system that works more like TSA Pre-Check and CLEAR—not like the frustrating long security line where everyone fumbles with carry-ons, debates outdated rules and worries about missing their flight. Efficient, predictable, and thorough—that’s the future of domestic mineral and energy infrastructure development.

Andrew A. Irvine is of counsel at Stoel Rives LLP in Boise, Idaho, with nearly 20 years of experience advising mining, energy, and infrastructure clients on permitting, governance, and environmental compliance across the Western United States.

[1] Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, Pub. L. No. 114-94, div. A, tit. XLI, 129 Stat. 1312 (2015); see Permitting Council FAST-41 Dashboard, https://permits.performance.gov/fast-41 (last visited Aug. 10, 2025).

[2] Exec. Order No. 14,241, Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production, 90 Fed. Reg. 13,673 (Mar. 25, 2025).

[3] Exec. Order No. 14,285, Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources, 90 Fed. Reg. 17,735 (Apr. 29, 2025).

[4] Aryn Baker, The Environmental Costs of Deep-Sea Mining, TIME (Aug. 4, 2021), https://time.com/6094560/deep-sea-mining-environmental-costs-benefits/.

[5] Rod McGuirk, Seabed Mining Debate Intensifies as Demand for Critical Minerals Grows, AP NEWS (Jan. 14, 2025), https://apnews.com/article/bd8c98390b3711439c055023b77e31b5.

[6] Permitting Council Press Releases (Aug. 2025), https://www.permitting.gov/newsroom/press-releases (last visited Aug. 10, 2025).

[7] Idaho Exec. Order No. 2025-02 (Jan. 24, 2025).

[8] See 2025 Idaho Legislative Session—No Appropriation for SPEED Council (on file with author).

[9] H.R. 4776, 119th Cong. (2025) (proposing the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act).

[10] See, e.g., W. Env’t. L. Ctr., NEPA Rollback Bill, SPEED Act, Would Threaten Environment, Communities, Provide Legal Immunity to Polluters (July 25, 2025), https://westernlaw.org/nepa-rollback-bill-speed-act-would-threaten-environment-communities-provide-legal-immunity-to-polluters/ (last visited Aug. 10, 2025).