U.S. Senators Release Long-Awaited Energy Permitting Reform Bill
On July 22, 2024, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY) released a long-awaited energy permitting reform bill, which aims to accelerate the permitting process for critical energy, mineral, and related infrastructure projects.
The Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 ("EPRA") proposes, among other things, to streamline and accelerate the leasing and permitting process for energy, mineral, and infrastructure projects; sets a deadline for the Energy Department to make decisions about whether to approve or reject a liquified natural gas ("LNG") export project; and limits and expedites court challenges to related agency actions. Below is an overview of some of the key proposals in the EPRA:
- Accelerates leasing and permitting decisions for energy projects on federal lands. For example, the EPRA would set deadlines and double production targets for renewable energy permitting on federal lands, eliminate duplicative permit requirements for oil and gas production on non-federal surface land, ensure that critical minerals projects can use federal land for mine support activities, and streamline environmental reviews for certain low-disturbance projects, among others.
- Sets a 90-day deadline for the Secretary of Energy to grant or deny LNG export applications following the conclusion of environmental reviews. Applications are deemed approved if the Secretary fails to meet the 90-day deadline, effectively overriding the Biden administration's actions that have stalled LNG approvals indefinitely.
- Establishes a 150-day statute of limitations to seek judicial review of an agency action granting or denying an authorization for an energy or mineral project. The EPRA would also require reviewing courts to expedite their review of legal challenges and set a 180-day deadline for federal agencies to act on remanded authorizations.
- Requires the Secretary of the Interior to hold at least one offshore wind lease sale and one offshore oil and gas lease sale per year from 2025 through 2029.
- Removes the Secretary of Energy's authority over designating national interest transmission corridors and allows the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") to issue construction permits for transmission projects "in the national interest" that meet legal requirements, improve reliability, and meet a minimum voltage threshold. The EPRA would also require FERC to issue a rule on interregional transmission planning and cost allocation within 180 days of the bill's enactment.
- Requires FERC and electric reliability organizations to assess future federal regulations that significantly affect power plants and provide formal comments to federal agencies about any effects that the regulations may have on electric reliability.
Industry participants should carefully monitor the progress of the EPRA as it has the potential to be an ambitious step forward in streamlining and accelerating the approval of critical energy, mineral, and related infrastructure projects.
