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The Senate reached a bipartisan deal this week, but there’s no guarantee lawmakers will finish the job.
By Ari Natter
US lawmakers are the closest they’ve been in years to fixing the nation’s notoriously slow process for approving key energy infrastructure.
After months of painstaking negotiations, a bipartisan group of senators reached a deal on Wednesday over a 417-page draft bill that would make it easier to issue permits for projects ranging from high-voltage transmission lines to oil wells.
It was a notable moment of comity over energy policy in Washington, where common ground between Republicans and Democrats is scarce. Now comes the hard part.
The legislation would shorten environmental reviews that can take years. It has won applause from groups ranging from the National Association of Manufacturers to the American Clean Power Association.
But some members of the Democrats’ progressive wing and environmental groups say it gives away too much to the fossil fuel industry.
Representative Jared Huffman, who will have significant sway over the legislation as the top Democrat on the House Committee on Natural Resources, outlined a litany of concerns. He said the deal with Republicans “makes no sense” if Democrats flip one or both chambers of Congress in November, as is widely expected.
The Natural Resources Defense Council reacted warily, saying it was “obvious that there are stark tradeoffs being made” and the bill must be improved. Friends of the Earth was downright scathing, calling the agreement “shortsighted and politically bewildering.”
“This bill will make it easier to build data centers and oil and gas projects,” said Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica.
On top of all that, the agreement still has a key unresolved issue.
One of the Democrats’ top demands was for assurances that the administration of President Donald Trump will stop blocking fully permitted wind and solar projects from moving ahead. They’re still waiting for the final details on that provision from the White House.
The Senate doesn’t plan to vote on the legislation until after the midterm elections, allowing plenty of time for the deal to unravel.
So while the US is making progress, it hasn’t broken through its permitting logjam quite yet.
—Ari Natter, Bloomberg News
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