"How soon can I get my permits?"

Your project is a puzzle, and the pieces not only have to fit, they have to fall into place at the right times. Often, the hardest piece of the puzzle is timing of permits -- and environmental permits can be the trickiest of all. With all the levels of government you have to deal with, it's easy to miss a requirement that can trip you up, causing costly delays.

Environmental approvals can seem like a maze -- wrong turns, dead ends, and no clear view of the finish. What can you do to keep your project moving through the environmental maze? Plenty.

• First, talk to your regulators, early and often. If you wait until you need your permits to start working on them, the bureaucrats aren't going to feel your pain.
• Second, make sure you know all the permits you need, who needs to issue them, and which part of your team is responsible for them. It's best to have one person on your team who keeps track of all the permits.
• Third, and most important: prepare to be flexible. Project sponsors often lose critical weeks or months arguing with regulators over what turn out to be relatively small points. Don't win the battle to lose the war.

No project is easy in New York, but with the right guidance, you can get the pieces to fit. Call Carl Johnson Consulting, LLC, for help in putting it all together.