THE PROJECT’S OBJECTIVES ARE TO STREAMLINE SITING AND PERMITTING FOR HYDROGEN FUELING STATIONS AND SUPPORT THE CLEAN HYDROGEN ECONOMY. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY DEVELOPING A MORE STREAMLINED APPROACH TO PERMITTING AND SITING BASED ON A MODEL POLICY, PROGRAMMATIC AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK THAT INCLUDES COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TOOLS AND SAFETY AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE LANGUAGE THAT CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO STATE PLANNING EFFORTS AND MORE EDUCATED AND CAPABLE STATE ENERGY OFFICIALS, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS. STAKEHOLDERS IN LOUISIANA WILL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE DIRECT FEEDBACK AND INPUT ON PERMITTING AND SAFETY CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO THE DELIVERABLES AND LEVERAGED AS CASE STUDIES FOR THE OTHER PARTNER STATES AND A NATIONAL AUDIENCE. THE PROCESS WILL ALSO FACILITATE CAPACITY BUILDING AND CONNECTION AMONG STATE ENERGY OFFICES WORKING ON INITIATIVES ACROSS THE HYDROGEN VALUE CHAIN. THE PROJECT WILL REFERENCE EXISTING PERMITTING AND SITING MANDATES AND INCORPORATE NEW INFORMATION TO CREATE ACTIONABLE RESOURCES FOR LOCAL AND STATE OFFICIALS, WHILE ELEVATING COMMUNITY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND WORKFORCE CONSIDERATIONS. THE OUTCOMES AND DELIVERABLES FROM THIS REGIONAL PROJECT WILL BE REPLICATED ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND WILL ALSO INFORM EERE’S RESEARCH AND MARKET TRANSFORMATION INVESTMENTS.