The US House of Representatives is preparing to vote over the next two weeks on bills that attempt to fast-track the federal approval process for pipelines, renewable energy projects and electric transmission lines.
The floor votes, set to begin next week, would mark a first step toward passing comprehensive permitting legislation that has been a long-sought goal of pipeline companies and renewable energy developers. But many lawmakers say the permitting package needs additional elements — such as a mechanism to end President Donald Trump's blockade on renewable energy projects — before any permitting package could become law.
Gas industry officials have made permitting legislation a top priority, as they try to reverse the conditions that caused the $8bn Atlantic Coast Pipeline to be canceled in 2020 and the years of delays in completing the Mountain Valley Pipeline. US independent EQT chief executive Toby Rice said permitting delays have meant the cost of building new pipelines has increased to $3-4/mmBtu, up from 75¢/mmBtu.
"One of the scariest things to think about as an energy executive is pulling the trigger and saying we're going to build another greenfield pipeline," Rice said this week at Energy Dialogues' North American Gas Forum.
The House as early as next week will vote on the PERMIT Act, which would overhaul the Clean Water Act to make it harder for states to deny required "section 401" water permits for pipelines and other infrastructure projects. The House the following week would then take up the SPEED Act, which would limit project reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act, in addition to prohibiting courts from blocking a project even if they found those reviews were deficient.
Many Democrats are pushing for additional provisions in the permitting package. They want to reverse Trump's directives slowing permitting for renewable energy on federal lands and to include a mechanism to allocate the costs of electric transmission projects. Republicans and Democrats alike have pushed for certainty that fully permitted projects, such as pipelines and offshore wind farms, could not be blocked by a subsequent administration.
"That all gets wrapped up in the same wedding ceremony sometime around March," US representative Scott Peters (D-California) said at the forum.
After the House votes, it will fall to the US Senate to combine the permitting bills and make changes that could allow the package to reach a 60-vote threshold needed to prevent a filibuster. Senate negotiators believe the final package will probably need support from 15-20 Democrats, given the likelihood that some Senate Republicans will vote against the measure. Industry officials say there has been recent progress on permitting legislation but they expect to see changes to the final package.
"I think there's still a lot of hard work to do on some of the deal-making to make sure that all forms of energy are able to be permitted and built in a timely and predictable manner," Partnership to Address Global Emissions executive director Chris Treanor said.
Oil and renewable energy industry groups have been offering support for the permitting legislation being considered in the House. The American Petroleum Institute, the American Clean Power Association and other energy groups on 3 December signed a joint letter urging the House to pass the SPEED Act, which they said would make "meaningful bipartisan progress" toward a more stable permitting framework.
