Crucial energy infrastructure projects continue to be hindered by Washington’s bureaucratic red tape created by the sprawling National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) permitting review process.
As a result, consumers are paying the price: more at the pump; more to heat and cool their homes; and more for nearly every other retail item. It’s time to pass comprehensive permitting reform, and build on what was finalized in this summer’s debt ceiling deal.
August marked the one-year anniversary of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This bloated legislation was supposedly designed to curb record-high inflation last year, but its strategies redoubled renewable energy tax subsidies and devoted record taxpayer spending to the Biden administration’s “rush to green” energy projects.
In addition, a major shortcoming of the IRA was the failure to adequately recognize America’s demand for natural gas and oil, and support the infrastructure buildout necessary to get these essential energy resources to market to meet consumer demand and help curb rising energy prices. Congress should prioritize this objective by passing comprehensive permitting reform, an objective touched on in the recent debt ceiling legislation.
In that bill — the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 — both President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed that it is high time to fix our broken system of obtaining permits to build infrastructure of all kinds, which has devolved over time into a contentious and expensive legal and bureaucratic battle that can take years upon years to navigate.
It all stems from the outdated NEPA law passed in 1970 that requires federal agencies to issue “detailed statements” for “major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of human environment.” That original dictate was expanded by President Carter in 1978 into a far more unwieldy regulatory scheme that has since grown into a significant obstacle to efficient permitting.
So, for decades, NEPA’s unnecessarily convoluted permitting review process, needed for all energy projects, has stymied progress. Reforming the NEPA review process will help with all forms of energy.
The Inflation Reduction Act allotted billions of dollars to be used for clean and renewable infrastructure developments. But the reality is that none of it will be possible without additional permitting reform that would help clear up red tape for renewables and oil and gas projects alike — such an outcome will be a win-win for everyone.
Much needed infrastructure projects that support reliable, affordable energy and create good-paying American jobs. Currently these projects face uncertainty and delays — often to the point of cancellation — as a result of our complex, bureaucratic process for reviewing and approving necessary procedural permits.
Permitting reform would provide much-needed relief to consumers nationwide. And, it would especially benefit hard-working Ohioans in a state where energy production is a major economic force.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Ohio ranks 10th in the nation in energy production. Historically, Ohio has not been thought of as an energy producer, but with the recent shale boom, things have changed.
Permitting reform would speed up approvals of projects currently in the queue and allow the Buckeye State to continue growing our already substantial energy development output.
Ohio’s share of the Utica and Marcellus Shale regions, one of the largest natural gas deposits in the world, helped the state produce 2,281,193 million cu/ft of natural gas in 2021, 6.1% of total U.S. output. However, without robust permitting reform, future exploration could be — and actually likely will be — held up by needlessly stringent review and permitting processes.
As chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing and Critical Materials, I have been heavily involved in these issues. For years, I have urged my fellow lawmakers to prioritize the need for our nation’s energy security and independence. And I have repeatedly stressed that the only way to achieve this is with commonsense polices that promote harvesting America’s own natural resources and streamline the processes that support it.
Earlier this year, I introduced the “Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act,” legislation that can help preserve the future of American energy, protect American energy jobs, lower energy costs, and strengthen our national security. As I said about this legislation then, “it is past time we cut the red tape surrounding the natural gas export permitting process, and unleash homegrown American energy.”
The debt ceiling legislation took positive steps…
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