Congress may consider streamlining both renewable and fossil fuel energy projects, although there’s more support from the latter industry. Leading the efforts are senators from Wyoming and West Virginia.
The newly released draft of the Energy Permitting Reform Act is about two years in the making. Last summer, West Virginia’s Sen. Joe Manchin, a former Democrat turned Independent, spoke to fellow lawmakers about the need for changes for energy development on federal lands – the impetus being the increasing demand for domestic energy.
In Manchin’s opinion, there are, “issues that are slowly, slowing down or blocking energy infrastructure critical for energy security and reliability, like pipelines and transmission lines.”
Manchin highlighted that the federal review process and lawsuits are slowing down energy projects. So he teamed up with Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) to draft the bill. It would make it easier to build renewable and fossil fuel projects and transmission lines, which are needed to transmit that energy, by shortening the permitting process and the time frame for legal challenges.
The Petroleum Association of Wyoming’s (PAW) Pres. Pete Obermueller testified to Congress last year that the timeline for federal permitting of oil and gas projects has more than doubled since 2018, from 121 to 271 days.
“Permits are an essential component of drilling programs,” he said. “So efficiency and processing is always an issue.”
PAW released a statement this week calling the bill a bipartisan success, specifically highlighting language that would reform the land parcel nomination process for potential energy development leasing.
Currently, a company has to pay $5 per acre when it nominates a parcel of federal land to be considered for leasing. PAW said this is an issue because even though the company is paying money, there isn’t a guarantee that the company will win the lease or that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will even offer to lease the land. The bill would shift the payment to the company that wins the bid for the lease, “encouraging more companies to participate in the nomination process and tying investment to possible production income.”
Initial reactions from environmental groups are opposition, although there are components of the bill that they like. For example, the Center for Western Priorities said in a blog post that setting the framework for building out more transmission lines is key for accelerating renewable energy development. However, they are concerned the bill is conceding too much to the extractive industry.
“The bill props up the continued development of fossil fuels at a moment when the nation should be doing everything it can to transition to clean energy,” the group said in its blog post.
The Center highlights several concerns. Like with energy project leases, the bill would only allow the BLM to include stipulations that are already outlined in an area’s Resource Management Plan (RMP). The environmental group said RMPs can be outdated by 30 years.
“An outdated RMP will not reflect the most recent information available on scientific, cultural, Tribal, environmental, and recreational resources and values present in the area, forcing all parties to act based on information that is outdated, and potentially no longer accurate,” according to the blog post.
It’s unclear if the bill has any legs to stand on in a very divided Congress. The body of lawmakers just left for recess and will reconvene in September.
