U.S. House Advances Permitting Reform Measures

As MSCI members are aware, nearly insurmountable permitting barriers have kept developers from designing major new energy infrastructure projects, including natural gas pipelines and new electrical transmissions lines, and submitting them to U.S. government agencies for environmental review and permitting.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) made an unsuccessful permitting reform push late in 2022, but, in the new Congress, has opted to take a backseat to U.S. House lawmakers who are pushing for reform.

Last week, those House efforts began. On Tuesday, February 28, the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced 16 bills, including language to streamline natural gas permitting. The same day, the House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on its draft permitting bill that would streamline and speed up the environmental review process. The bills’ objectives include streamlining and speeding up the environmental review process, limiting litigation surrounding infrastructure permitting, and easing permitting of natural gas pipelines and liquified natural gas export facilities.

Lawmakers will eventually combine the two proposals into one major energy package that is expected to pass the House by the end of March.

At that point, it is likely that Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-Wy.) will introduce Senate Republicans’ permitting bill. That introduction should trigger a bipartisan negotiation with Sen. Manchin, who chairs the committee, and House Republican committee chairs.

The Energy Equipment and Infrastructure Alliance (EEIA), which MSCI is a member of, is working with pro-reform leaders in both chambers of Congress to support efforts to pass reform legislation. No piece of legislation will become law without bipartisan support, however, since 60 votes will be needed for Senate approval. At some point, EEIA and MSCI will ask member companies to weigh in with senators to ask that they support these reforms.

Stay tuned to Connecting the Dots for more information on that grassroots campaign.