Senate Republicans introduced a new bill Tuesday meant to streamline the buildout of energy projects by amending the judicial processes often used to delay permit approvals.
Introduced by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the Revising and Enhancing Project Authorizations Impacted by Review, or REPAIR, Act is intended to speed up projects' implementation by limiting the ability of groups or individuals to file suits under the National Environmental Policy Act, a 1970 law that requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of proposed actions before making decisions.
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“It’s impossible to permit energy and manufacturing in the U.S. Well-funded radical groups are hijacking the justice system to send critical infrastructure projects they don’t like into legal purgatory,” Cassidy said in a statement. “Commonsense judicial reform removes unnecessary roadblocks while preserving the right to challenge projects.”
The bill would require individuals filing a suit against a project to file within 30 days and necessitates that the individuals are directly affected by the project and focus on the “direct and tangible harms” not considered in the initial authorization process. The measure would create a database, maintained by the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, for claims that have not been adjudicated within 90 days of filing. The bill would establish a “mediation process” that would allow the project developer and the permit-issuing agency to address a challenge directly in order to move a project forward. The measure also allows offshore wind projects access to the same judicial review process as offshore oil and gas.
Along with Cassidy, co-sponsors of the bill include Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT), Jim Risch (R-ID), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Roger Marshall (R-KS).
The bill’s introduction highlights slight movement in an otherwise stalled priority for both parties within Congress. Although there is bipartisan support to streamline the permitting process for energy projects, there is large disagreement between the two sides on how to do so.
Republicans and some Democrats have been eager to amend the National Environmental Policy Act in efforts to accelerate the approval process, but this is to the chagrin of other Democrats, who argue that National Environmental Policy Act reform will limit local input on the matter and force energy projects on historically marginalized communities.
Democrats are also adamant on passing legislation that can help speed up the implementation of high voltage transmission, a component that remains critical to the Biden administration’s decarbonization goals. However, that would require expanded powers for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that could override state authority on permitting and electric rate setting, a nonstarter for Republicans.
Earlier this year during a panel discussion, Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Daines stressed the need for judicial reform to be paired with permitting reform, arguing that the speedy buildout of projects would be inhibited by legal challenges unless changes were implemented.
“As long as you can litigate, you’re going to have problems,” Cramer said.
However, as Congress’s schedule becomes more geared toward spending deadlines and the session heads closer into an election year, the chances for sweeping permitting reform become slimmer.
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Cassidy’s bill was championed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Petroleum Institute, and conservative energy group ClearPath on Tuesday.
“Too many clean energy projects experience delays of years, sometimes decades, largely because of a broken permitting system and obstructive litigation practices,” said ClearPath Action CEO Rich Powell. “Sen. Cassidy’s bill strikes the right balance, allowing legitimate judicial review while halting the never-ending cycle that is impeding America’s ability to deploy billions of dollars of capital to the energy projects our country desperately needs.”