Appalachian Voices Urges Congress To Reject Proposed Changes To Federal Energy Permitting That Reduces Opportunities For Communities To Challenge Projects; Bill Clears US Senate Committee

On July 29, Appalachian Voices urged Congress to oppose proposed federal energy facility permitting legislation which reduces the opportunities for communities that would be directly affected by these projects and other stakeholders to challenge energy projects.

On July 31, the legislation was reported out of the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.  Read more here.

Last week, US Sens. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., and John Barasso, R-Wyo., released text for a new energy permitting legislation — the proposed Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 — which proposed to significantly overhaul the process for reviewing and approving energy projects like methane gas pipelines, transmission lines, power plants and more. 

The senators’ proposed bill reduces the opportunities for communities that would be directly affected by these projects and other stakeholders to challenge energy projects by reducing the deadline for challenges from six years to 150 days. 

The bill also--

-- Mandates offshore oil, gas and wind lease sales;

-- Sets short deadlines for the lease processes for coal mining on federal lands; 

-- Waives community input opportunities for certain transmission projects;

-- Reverses the Biden administration’s pause of new liquefied natural gas export approvals;

-- Creates a conditional loophole for automatic FERC approval of applications for LNG gas export facilities and pipelines that cannot be reviewed or challenged. 

Additionally, the bill includes several reforms to speed up renewable energy permitting on federal lands, including removing opportunities for community input for certain projects.

Statement from Chelsea Barnes, Director of Government Affairs and Strategy--

“The Energy Permitting Reform Act silences community voices by further eroding the National Environmental Policy Act. All people deserve an opportunity to influence the development of energy projects in their communities. In President Biden’s last months in office, Congress should not undo the significant progress on NEPA and other environmental regulations he championed.”

Statement from Jessica Sims, Virginia Field Coordinator--

“The Energy Permitting Reform Act is a fossil-fuel industry wishlist. If lawmakers want to reform our energy permitting process, they should start by listening to the people living near these projects, not the fossil fuel industries that extract resources from those communities and leave them with polluted air and water. And they should follow the example of Rep. Raúl Grijalva’s A. Donald McEachin Environmental Justice For All Act, which is what permitting reform should look like.”

Click Here for the complete announcement.

Appalachian Voices brings people together to protect the land, air and water of Central and Southern Appalachia and advance a just transition to a generative and equitable clean energy economy.

Resource Link:

-- Manchin, Barrasso Release Bipartisan Federal Energy Permitting Reform Legislation

NewsClips:

-- US Senate Committee Clears Manchin-Barrasso Bill To Change Federal Energy Facility Permitting Process

-- E&E News: What’s Next For US Senate Energy Facility Permitting Bill?  

-- Washington Examiner: Major Bipartisan Federal Permitting Overhaul Bill Clears Senate Committee

-- The Guardian: US Energy Permitting ‘Reform’ Bill A ‘Wishlist For The Fossil Industry,’ Say Environmental Groups

-- Earthworks Blog: Proposed Federal Energy Permitting Reform Act - Bill Prioritizing Pollutors Over Communities

-- DV Journal: Proposed US Senate Energy Facility Permitting Changes Could Be Boon To PA’s Energy Economy

[Posted: July 29, 2024]  PA Environment Digest