The House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation Thursday to accelerate federal approvals of infrastructure and energy projects, a reform that has long been considered a “white whale” in Congress.
The Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act, also known as the SPEED Act, cleared the House in a 221-196 vote, with 11 Democrats voting in favor and one Republican voting against.
The bill, introduced by House Natural Resources Committee chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR), is the latest effort from Republicans and Democrats to speed up the process for issuing federal permits required for domestic infrastructure.
What’s in the bill
The bill would reform the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA, the 55-year-old law that requires federal agencies to evaluate the environmental effects of major actions and decisions relevant to their departments. This includes the issuing of any permits and licenses required for building roads, energy infrastructure such as transmission lines, large load facilities including data centers, and much more.
Supporters of the bedrock environmental law say that NEPA is critical for reducing the endangerment of public lands and wildlife while also mitigating the effects of climate change.
However, criticism has grown on both sides of the aisle that the law has inadvertently led to more bureaucratic red tape and lengthy legal challenges, slowing the development of domestic infrastructure and energy growth.
Congress has attempted and failed to pass permitting reform for years, and has not seen this much bipartisan collaboration on the issue before.
If passed, the SPEED Act would overhaul and simplify NEPA and the scope of review required for environmental analyses by removing requirements to consider or conduct new scientific or technical research.
The legislation would mandate that agencies are not permitted to delay the issuance of an environmental review document or decision on the basis of waiting for new scientific research to be released.
The SPEED Act also would limit federal agencies’ ability to include downstream environmental effects associated with projects in a review. An example would be reviews of projects for producing fossil fuels, such as oil and gas. If passed, the bill would prevent these reviews from considering the effect of carbon emissions released into the atmosphere when those fossil fuels are burned after they are produced and transported.
Additionally, the bill would shorten the statute of limitations for legal challenges against projects subject to environmental reviews from several years to just 150 days.
Pushback and support on both sides of the aisle
While Democrats are in favor of reforming NEPA in order to accelerate the development of renewable energy resources in their districts, many have been hesitant to back Westerman’s bill over concerns that the Trump administration would continue to use the executive office to block construction of wind and solar projects even if technology-neutral permitting reform were to be passed.
“The bill is a dramatic overreach,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, told the Washington Examiner last week. “[It] does nothing to end this crazy war on clean energy that’s driving up electricity prices for struggling families.”
Republicans have sought to meet their colleagues across the aisle by including an amendment that would prevent the executive office from revoking permits from specific projects – such as offshore wind farms.
A handful of hardline House conservatives claim this amendment would benefit the offshore wind industry, undermining the president’s crackdown on renewable projects. Some have also argued that the legislation would give the Senate the opportunity to further “water down” the text to benefit the wind and solar industries.
While Westerman has vowed to keep the language in the bill, Republican leaders did offer one controversial concession to the conservative holdouts in order to ensure the bill would advance to a floor vote.
Earlier in the week, Westerman agreed to tweak the legislation exempting agency decisions made since Jan. 20 until the bill is enacted as law from the permitting reforms. This would provide the Trump administration with significant flexibility, allowing agencies to continue revoking permits for projects until the bill is signed into law.
Dozens of fossil fuel trade associations, manufacturing groups, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have voiced their support for the legislation and the limitations on the executive office, saying project certainty is necessary to encourage domestic infrastructure growth.
“The SPEED Act offers common-sense reforms that address these challenges. It helps focus environmental reviews where they matter, promotes project certainty through requiring clear timelines, and improves coordination among federal agencies to reduce redundant reviews,” a coalition letter led by the Chamber sent to House lawmakers on Tuesday read. “These reforms and others in the bill will not only improve permitting efficiency but also help businesses to plan and invest with confidence, creating jobs, strengthening supply chains, and advancing U.S. leadership in energy, manufacturing, technology, and beyond.”
What happens next
The bill now heads to the Senate, where the upper chamber may choose to include any provisions in its own permitting bill.
Many supporters of the SPEED Act were hopeful that the Senate would use the bill as a jumping off point for more detailed reforms, but some are now skeptical the House-passed legislation will be included in a Senate legislative package due to the last minute amendment added by conservatives this week.
The amendment has also caused some clean energy groups who previously supported the bill, including American Clean Power, to pull their endorsements.
Any legislation on permitting reform out of the Senate will likely come from the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee.
NEPA: WHAT IT IS AND WHY IT IS CENTRAL TO THE PERMITTING REFORM DEBATE
Last week, ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) told the Washington Examiner that he has spoken directly with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on how to move discussions along.
“I think there’s a lot of potential in the Senate,” Whitehouse said. “The House is going to do what the House is going to do, but I think the plan is that the bill will be put together here and then sent over to the House on a package that requires some attention to it, which I think is a good strategy.”
