Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY), leaders on the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee, released a long-awaited permitting reform bill earlier this month. The Energy Permitting Reform Act focuses on expediting approvals on public lands and doubles production targets on these lands. The bill also reduces the number of environmental reviews and sets deadlines for approving applications.
While the bill is the most expansive version of permitting reform we have seen yet, it is still limited to the Committee’s jurisdiction. The Committee will consider the bill on Wednesday, July 31.
It is a great case study at what moves the needle on big-ticket policy and where concessions are often made to advance policy in DC.
Momentum continued without a hard deadline. Oftentimes, real progress happens when Congress is up against an authorizing deadline or end of the fiscal year. Despite not having a hard deadline (besides the end of this Congress), Senators Manchin and Barrasso introduced this legislation.
Stakeholders continued to show need for progress. Last year, Congress passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which lifted the debt ceiling and updated NEPA to expedite permitting. There was broad consensus, however, that much more needed to be done. Stakeholders continued to lean on congressional offices and committees to do more resulting in the Energy Permitting Reform Act.
Both renewable and fossil fuel projects are included. Provisions like requiring at least one offshore wind and one offshore oil and gas lease sale every year bring detractors on both sides. However, it is written to bring leaders on both sides of the issue together to support the bill.
Committees are hamstrung by jurisdiction. This bill is limited in scope to the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee’s jurisdictional boundaries. Senator Manchin has encouraged other committees to move forward with their own permitting bills to piece together, however, that can be difficult to do. Because so many of these issues are led by Member and staff interests and expertise, some committees – and constituencies – could be left behind if only one committee is able to move a permitting bill.
The bill has a long way to go before being signed into law. Expect these dynamics – and more – to continue to influence what the final version looks like.
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