Senators Manchin, Barrasso Release Bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Legislation

New Legislation Aims to Streamline Energy and Mineral Project Approvals

A new bill seeks to expedite the approval process for energy and mineral projects in the United States, introducing measures to shorten timelines and simplify procedures without compromising existing rights to judicial review.

Judicial Review and Timelines

The bill proposes a 150-day statute of limitations for filing legal challenges following the final agency action on a project. It also mandates that courts expedite the review process for these challenges and sets a 180-day deadline for federal agencies to act on remanded authorizations.

Onshore Energy and Mineral Development

To accelerate the development of energy projects on federal lands, the bill includes several key provisions:

- Lease Sales: Ensures that lease sales for oil and gas include only nominated acreage.
- Renewable Energy: Sets deadlines and doubles the targets for permitting renewable energy projects on federal lands.
- Oil and Gas Production: Eliminates redundant permitting requirements for projects on non-federal surface land.
- Environmental Reviews: Streamlines reviews for projects with low environmental impact, such as renewable energy, electric grid, and storage projects.
- Coal Leasing: Establishes timelines for processing federal coal lease applications.
- Geothermal and Mining: Modernizes the leasing and permitting processes for geothermal energy and allows hardrock mining projects to use federal land for supporting activities. Additionally, revenue from new mill sites will be directed towards the reclamation of abandoned hardrock mines.

Offshore Energy Development

The bill mandates that the Secretary of the Interior conduct at least one offshore wind lease sale and one offshore oil and gas lease sale annually from 2025 to 2029. These sales must meet minimum acreage requirements and adhere to environmental review standards. Without these provisions, the bill highlights that there could be gaps in leasing activity under current law.

Electric Transmission and Reliability

The legislation also seeks to reform the siting process for interstate electric transmission lines and requires interregional transmission planning. Key elements include:

- Cost Allocation and Reliability: Projects must improve electric reliability, and costs are to be allocated only to benefiting customers, based on a specified list of benefits.
- State Authority: The bill preserves the current law, allowing states a year to respond to applications before they can be escalated to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
- Community Benefits: FERC can approve compensation for communities hosting transmission facilities.
- Infrastructure and Dispute Resolution:** The bill encourages the use of existing rights-of-way and advanced conductors to minimize costs and environmental impact, and includes mechanisms for resolving disputes and ensuring compliance.

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Exports

The bill imposes a 90-day deadline for the Secretary of Energy to approve or deny LNG export applications following environmental reviews. If the deadline is missed, the applications are deemed approved. Decisions must be based on existing Department of Energy studies unless new studies, subjected to peer review and public comment, are completed.

Hydropower

Lastly, the bill allows FERC to extend the start-construction deadlines for certain existing hydropower licenses, providing more flexibility in project timelines.

This comprehensive legislative package aims to streamline the approval and permitting processes for a wide range of energy and mineral projects, fostering development while maintaining environmental safeguards and regulatory oversight.