Manchin Releases Text of Permitting Reform Measure
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CHARLESTON -- Under intense pressure from progressive Democrats and Republican lawmakers, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin released his permitting reform language Wednesday that will be part of a continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded past September.
Manchin, D-W.Va., released the permitting reform package Wednesday evening, with staff giving reporters a sneak peek and briefing late Wednesday afternoon.
Titled the "Energy Independence and Security Act of 2022," the package would streamline the process for federal authorizations of energy and natural resources projects, such as oil and natural gas drilling and pipeline projects.
"No matter what you want to build, whether it's transmission pipelines or hydropower dams, more often than not, it takes too long and drives up costs," Manchin said in a statement released Wednesday evening. "I can assure you, the longer the time goes on, the more the price goes up. That's what we're facing in America today with energy."
The package sets a two-year deadline for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews of proposed projects that require full environmental impact statements from more than one federal agency. The target date drops to one year for projections requiring one environmental; assessment. It also requires approval of remaining permits within 180 days once the NEPA process has concluded.
Manchin's bill language requires one agency to take the lead on coordinating project reviews and requires sharing of information between agencies to expedite the permitting process. Any court cases to block projects would need to be filed within 150 days and sets a deadline for courts of no more than 180 days for agencies to act on remanded or vacated permits. It also creates dispute resolution procedures to keep projects from bogging down.
The act requires the President to designate certain projects of national importance which would flag those projects for expedited review. It gives the federal government greater authority to expedite permits for new electrical transmission lines, and it requires all federal agencies to approve all remaining permits for the long-delayed Mountain Valley Pipeline that would transport natural gas from West Virginia to the Virginia coast.
Manchin's staff confirmed that the Energy Independence and Security Act will be part of the continuing resolution that Congress will vote on next week in order to keep the government funded. Several Democratic lawmakers in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate have called for separating Manchin's permitting reform language from the CR and voting on both separately.
According to Politico, several progressive senators -- including Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. -- wrote a letter Wednesday asking for two separate votes. Republican senators have also expressed doubt in Manchin's negotiations on permitting reform, having been shut out of the process. Republicans are upset with Manchin supporting the $737 billion Inflation Reduction Act in exchange for permitting reform.
"I guess the old saying goes that politics makes strange bedfellows," Manchin said. "I have to be honest with you, I've been around for a long time in state politics and federal politics. I've never seen stranger bedfellows than Bernie Sanders and the extreme liberals siding with Republican leadership. In the Democratic caucus, I've never seen this happen. So, what I'm hearing is that this is revenge politics towards one person, me. And I'm thinking, this is not about me."
Senate Republicans have rallied around a permitting reform proposal introduced by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., last week. On the phone briefing, Manchin's staff said there were several similarities between Manchin's and Capito's proposals.
Capito's bill -- called the Simplify Timelines and Assure Regulatory Transparency (START) Act -- would prohibit retroactive vetoes of permits, streamline the ability for industry to make improvements or reduce emissions, shorten certain timeframes in the Endangered Species Act and give states the right to develop energy resources on federal lands.
It would also give states the exclusive authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing used for extracting oil and natural gas and codifies several environmental and National Environmental Policy Act regulations put in place during former president Donald Trump's tenure.
Capito was unavailable for comment Wednesday evening.
Since he is facing opposition from some Senate Democrats, Manchin has put pressure on Capito and other Senate Republicans to support his permitting reform proposal sight unseen, something that Capito and Republican colleagues have balked at.
The CR/permitting reform proposal must get to 60 votes to avoid a filibuster and be considered before heading to the House, where Manchin will also need Republican support as more than 80 Democrats there have said they would oppose linking the two proposals. The CR must pass by the end of September to avoid a government shutdown.
"They're going to vote and it's going to be in the CR," Manchin said. "If they're willing to say they're going to shut down the government because of a personal attack on me, or by not looking at the good of the country, that is what makes people sick about politics. It makes me sick about politics. You know me, if it looks good, I don't care whether it was a Republican or Democratic idea. I'm for it. As long as I can go home and explain it, it makes sense."