Trump’s moves have raised fears among environmentalists that the administration is eyeing an end run around longstanding regulations in the National Environmental Policy Act designed to ensure that the construction of new infrastructure doesn’t threaten wildlife habitats or pollute sources of drinking water, among other aims. And they view the harping about permitting delays as a diversion from the real obstacle to infrastructure improvements: a lack of money. But the effort has drawn praise from some Trump skeptics who say the changes are a needed bureaucratic push that could save not only time, but also a significant amount of money in costs.

“The [administration] staff seemed to be making a serious effort to actually push projects along,” said Philip K. Howard, the founder and chairman of Common Good, a nonprofit group that released a 2015 report that has influenced the Trump administration’s push to cut red tape. “Willpower,” Howard said, “can go a long way.”

It’s more than sheer willpower, however.

Last August, Trump signed an executive order establishing what administration officials call the “One Federal Decision” policy, which designates a single department or agency as the lead decision-maker for the federal permitting process. If the project is a new bridge, for example, the Department of Transportation would take the lead. A new pipeline or water project would go through the Army Corps of Engineers.

The department in charge is responsible for creating a timetable for approvals across the government and ensuring that key milestones are met. It’s an important change, administration officials and infrastructure advocates said, because the permitting process comprises 29 different federal statutes over 15 departments and agencies. Whether they’re dealing with an environmental regulation under the Clean Air Act or another rule under the Endangered Species Act—or both, potentially—projects often must receive permits from several different agencies before a final decision is made. That can lead to what officials call “decision deserts,” where there’s no definitive beginning or end to the process.

Under another change, departments would conduct more reviews concurrently, rather than sequentially, to speed things up. The administration has given the example of a hydroelectric project near the Pacific Ocean in Washington state: The law required a study on the impact it would have on salmon, which fell under the jurisdiction of the Commerce Department’s National Marine Fisheries Service. Three months later, a separate agency within the Interior Department conducted a similar analysis on trout. Under the new policy, those studies might be conducted at the same time, speeding up decision-making.

“This over-regulated permitting process is a massive self-inflicted wound on our country,” Trump said in signing the order last year. “It’s disgraceful—denying our people much-needed investments in their community.” The president is traveling to Ohio for an infrastructure-themed speech on Thursday, where administration officials expect him to tout a project to widen the I-271 highway to relieve congestion near Cleveland. The state government was able to cut the timeline for NEPA approvals by more than half through an agreement with the federal government.