For businesses considering where to invest, expand or create jobs, the ability of government to move projects forward matters. A permitting process that is timely, transparent and predictable can help unlock investment. A process marked by delays and uncertainty can do the opposite.
For years, New Jersey businesses have raised concerns about the time and complexity involved in navigating the state’s permitting system. Those concerns are not simply about paperwork. Delays can increase costs, postpone construction, slow hiring and make it more difficult for businesses to make long-term investment decisions.
The business community has recognized that there is a simple truth about economic development in New Jersey: when government can move projects forward, businesses can move New Jersey forward.
The overwhelming impact that regulations and permit processes on New Jersey’s economy has long been recognized by businesses. For far too long, businesses, municipalities, counties, redevelopment authorities, and developers have faced uncertainty and delays navigating the state’s permitting process.
That is why the identification of the problems and progress being made by Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration deserves recognition, and why the business community should encourage the administration to keep pushing forward.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has reduced its backlog of Freshwater Wetlands Letters of Interpretation by 72%. That is not simply a statistic. It represents projects moving forward, greater certainty for applicants, and a government process that is becoming more responsive to the people and businesses it serves.
Gov. Sherrill deserves significant credit for making permitting reform a priority from the beginning of her administration. Her “Saving You Time and Money” agenda specifically identified slow permitting and regulatory processes as barriers to investment and economic growth.
On her first day in office, she established a cross-agency permitting team and directed the administration to develop a permitting dashboard designed to improve transparency, accountability, and coordination.
Just as importantly, the governor created the position of New Jersey’s first chief operating officer and entrusted Kellie Doucette with helping transform the way state government operates.
Doucette has brought a management and accountability mindset to a challenge that has frustrated New Jersey businesses for years. Her work to improve government operations, identify bottlenecks and make permitting more transparent is an important part of the progress we are seeing.
The Sherrill administration is faced with the need for long-term reforms aimed at changing the negative opinions of locating new businesses and expanding existing businesses in New Jersey. While the administration and Legislature will need to work together for long-term changes, there is a recognition that three things are within the administration’s control now: the timeliness of decision making, the attitude of regulatory and permitting staff and regulatory overreach.
The governor and COO Doucette and NJDEP Commissioner Ed Potosnak have made clear that permitting reform is not about weakening New Jersey’s environmental protections. It is about making government work better.
That distinction matters. Consider:
Permitting is economic policy
For a company considering whether to build a facility, expand an operation or locate in New Jersey, the permitting process can be just as important as taxes, workforce availability, energy costs or access to transportation.
Every unnecessary delay can add costs and uncertainty to a project.
That can mean additional financing costs, delayed construction, delayed hiring and delayed economic activity. In some cases, uncertainty can affect whether a company chooses to make an investment in New Jersey at all.
That is why the governor’s focus on permitting should be viewed as an important component of the state’s economic competitiveness.
New Jersey has enormous advantages. We have a highly educated workforce, world-class universities, access to major markets, a strong transportation network and a diverse business community.
But those advantages must be supported by a government that is predictable, transparent and capable of getting things done.
The administration’s Permitting Dashboard is another important step in that direction. Giving applicants the ability to see where their projects stand, understand next steps and identify potential bottlenecks can bring a level of transparency that businesses have been asking for.
Gov. Sherrill has also launched Operation FAST at DEP, specifically focused on making the department more efficient and responsive while maintaining New Jersey’s environmental standards.
That is the right balance.
New Jersey should never have to choose between protecting the environment and growing the economy. We should expect government to do both.
Keep the momentum going
The reduction in the wetlands LOI backlog is an encouraging sign of what can happen when state government focuses on results.
And it is precisely why we hope Governor Sherrill, Kellie Doucette and Commissioner Ed Potosnak continue this work.
One successful backlog reduction cannot be the finish line. It should be the beginning of a broader effort to modernize New Jersey’s permitting system across state government.
Businesses need to know that when they submit an application, it will be reviewed in a reasonable timeframe. They need transparency about where an application stands. They need agencies to communicate with one another. And they need confidence that the rules of the game will be applied consistently and predictably.
Those improvements can make New Jersey more attractive to companies looking to invest, while giving businesses already here greater confidence to expand.
That means more construction, more investment, more jobs and a stronger tax base.
It also means New Jersey can compete more effectively with other states for the companies and investments that will define our economy for decades to come.
The Governor has said that she wants New Jersey government to save people and businesses time and money. The progress at DEP shows that goal can translate into measurable results.
It’s time
Now is the time to build on it.
If we can continue making progress through the state’s permitting process, we can make progress toward a stronger business climate, greater investment and a more robust economy for the entire Garden State.
This is what making government work looks like, and New Jersey should keep moving forward.
Dennis Hart is the Executive Director of the Chemistry Council of New Jersey and Tony Bawidamann is the Chair of the NEW Jobs PAC
