diff --git a/docs/gcp-config.md b/docs/gcp-config.md
index 2943fbb565..f916da8be4 100644
--- a/docs/gcp-config.md
+++ b/docs/gcp-config.md
@@ -67,7 +67,6 @@ To integrate Heptio Ark with GCP, create an Ark-specific [Service Account][15]:
         compute.snapshots.create
         compute.snapshots.useReadOnly
         compute.snapshots.delete
-        compute.projects.get
     )
 
     gcloud iam roles create heptio_ark.server \
diff --git a/pkg/cloudprovider/gcp/block_store.go b/pkg/cloudprovider/gcp/block_store.go
index 3aac0a7398..2d0bba57bd 100644
--- a/pkg/cloudprovider/gcp/block_store.go
+++ b/pkg/cloudprovider/gcp/block_store.go
@@ -64,16 +64,6 @@ func (b *blockStore) Init(config map[string]string) error {
 		return errors.WithStack(err)
 	}
 
-	// validate connection
-	res, err := gce.Projects.Get(project).Do()
-	if err != nil {
-		return errors.WithStack(err)
-	}
-
-	if res == nil {
-		return errors.Errorf("error getting project %q", project)
-	}
-
 	b.gce = gce
 	b.project = project