The United States is less than two weeks from Election Day, and policymakers are jockeying over what could move forward in the lame-duck session. One priority for the energy sector is the Senate permitting bill introduced in July.
While the prospects of President Biden signing the Energy Permitting Reform Act (EPRA) before he departs appear low, one thing is abundantly clear regardless of the bill’s fate. Permitting reform is not a one-and-done fix. It will take bold reform at the federal and state levels to capitalize on America’s energy abundance and technological innovation.
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Recent data illuminates the severity of the situation. The average time to complete an Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) now exceeds 4.5 years, with many projects taking considerably longer. NEPA has disproportionately harmed clean energy production, and frivolous lawsuits led primarily by national environmental activist organizations have stalled everything from critical minerals and wind projects to transmission expansion and more effective forest management.
For example, the PennEast Pipeline project, despite strong market demand, spent seven years navigating permitting challenges before ultimately being canceled in 2021. The Mountain Valley Pipeline initially projected to take two years, stretched to over eight years, with costs ballooning from $3.7 billion to nearly $ 8 billion. It took a debt ceiling deal to receive approval and make the pipeline operational in June. Overburdensome regulations and excessive litigation have blocked or delayed renewable, nuclear, geothermal, and transmission projects. With increasing energy demand, more supplies will be necessary to keep prices affordable and power reliable.
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EPRA takes several steps in the right direction by improving geothermal development, ending the Biden administration’s misguided pause on liquefied natural gas exports , and extending hydropower licenses. EPRA establishes a 150-day statute of limitations to seek judicial review from an agency, but that still leaves plenty of time for activists to sue.
More comprehensive judicial reform and NEPA reform are necessary but outside the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee’s jurisdiction. Energy developers dealing with litigation are like Sisyphus rolling the boulder up the hill. After struggling and fighting one lawsuit, the statute of limitations resets if a court remands an agency decision. Limiting injunctive relief and limiting who can have standing would help reign in judicial review abuse. Congress needs to modernize the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and Endangered Species Act— just to name a few.
Notably, federal reform efforts are just the tip of the iceberg. State and local bottlenecks are just as thorny. Policymakers need to address all of them. States need to streamline their processes, and local governments need to update zoning laws written before people knew about solar farms, small modular reactors, or battery storage facilities. The government should ease these laws to make building easier while protecting the environment – not weaponized to block energy projects for political purposes.
The United States faces a permitting challenge that threatens our economic competitiveness, energy dominance, and environmental advantage. While attention in Washington often focuses on more funding and subsidies for energy technologies, addressing the obstacles to energy deployment will be far more impactful in delivering clean, dependable energy. Permitting reform will be imperative to meet America’s energy needs and environmental goals.
Like better health and fitness, permitting reform is an ongoing process, not a one-time fix. Whatever does or doesn’t happen in the lame duck, the work will be far from finished.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
