If Congress Wants to Do Permitting Reform, It Needs to Do it Right

NEPA is a core environmental law that ensures a public process and review for federal decisions that could significantly affect human health or the environment, including on public lands and waters. If a pipeline, a mine, or a solar farm is going to be developed in your neighborhood, NEPA guarantees that you will be able to review the project and comment on it.

Right now, Congress is considering trying to attach a package of “permitting reform” legislation to the continuing resolution (CR) that it must pass by the end of September. This legislation could include significant changes to NEPA that would curtail public comment periods, limit environmental reviews, and threaten frontline communities that have been historically burdened by development.

For Congress to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, Senator Schumer and Speaker Pelosi made a deal with Senator Manchin to secure his vote, promising that there would be a vote on permitting reform legislation. Senator Manchin is interested in permitting reform as part of his goal to see the country pursue an “all-of-the-above” energy policy, which means ramping up oil and gas development alongside investments in solar and renewables. Other Senators have expressed their openness to permitting reform in an effort to “streamline” energy projects, including renewable energy.

Permitting reform could help the country build out clean energy equitably and efficiently, expediting development that would make it easier to use renewable energy. However, these reforms must be done thoughtfully and must take into account environmental justice concerns, some of which were compromised in the IRA legislation, particularly around fossil fuel development and frontline communities. Rep. Raul Grijalva’s Environmental Justice for All Act is an example of legislation taking the interest of EJ communities seriously; it would update NEPA to ensure that communities facing disproportionate environmental burdens are better protected by the NEPA process, and this legislation should be a cornerstone of serious permitting reform.

Current proposed reforms—leaked in a draft watermarked for or by the American Petroleum Institute—would expedite primarily fossil fuel infrastructure, with significant environmental justice concerns. There are opportunities to improve NEPA, including funding agencies properly so they can conduct environmental reviews more efficiently, but they cannot be achieved through rushed legislation that prioritizes fossil fuel development on public lands. As proposed, the current legislation was negotiated with little if any public input, and would undermine NEPA, rather than improve it.

Lawmakers must take their time to develop thoughtful solutions that ensure a robust public process, protective environmental reviews, and improve efficiency in clean energy development in both the short- and long-term. This process must include stakeholder input and hearings.

Click to read Outdoor Alliance’s letter to Congress.

An additional consideration is that there is already a process underway to update NEPA implementation, led by the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Outdoor Alliance has been involved in the effort to unwind some of the disastrous changes to NEPA implementation advanced by the last administration, and any reforms should take into account the immense effort that has been put into this process so far.

Federal permitting reform could have a significant impact on Americans and must be given the diligence and process afforded to other major legislation. You can read Outdoor Alliance’s full letter to Congressional leadership here, and there’s an important role for individuals to play in encouraging your lawmakers not to rush permitting reform through with a CR. Please take a moment to ask your lawmakers to do permitting reform right instead of rushing it through, using our easy-action tool: