Adapting to climate change will require innovative projects and programs that can provide multiple-benefits for the application of precious local dollars. These projects, which include large scale water recycling and stormwater capture, combination wastewater treatment and energy production, and other innovative measures, can be delayed in permitting compared to more traditional single purpose infrastructure projects. Stanford Water in the West’s Landreth Visiting Fellow Felicia Marcus worked with a team from USEPA, UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment, and Water Innovation Services to convene federal and state regulators, utility managers, and NGO leaders to discuss ways to speed permitting without compromising environmental protection. Their report, A Framework for Permitting Innovation in the Wastewater Sector, identifies where projects slow down (e.g., a lack of clarity by permitters and permittees about the extent of discretion that can be exercised), and makes recommendations for how to speed the process (e.g., early communication, a method of elevation, the development of an ongoing community of practice to focus on speeding innovative projects). The speed, scale, and creativity needed to adapt to climate change requires that we step outside business as usual and engage across utility, community, and regulatory silos to make it easier to meet the climate challenge collectively. This report provides an opening based upon experience, research, and joint engagement to get that work started.