GOP to energy companies: We’re here to help. Industry: Meh – By Zack Colman (Politico) / Mar 20 2023
Legislation aimed at speeding approval of projects such as pipelines and power lines amounts to “half-measures,” people experienced in federal energy permitting say.
The Republican push to loosen federal permitting rules for energy projects is falling flat with the industry it’s designed to benefit.
Publicly, energy industry executives and representatives have praised lawmakers for taking on a problem that both Republicans and Democrats have identified: It takes too long to win approval to build energy infrastructure such as pipelines, liquefied natural gas plants or solar and wind farms.
But privately, they say the ideas included in the House bill to overhaul permitting rules miss the point and would do little to help advance major projects that are key to boosting jobs, lowering energy prices and meeting climate targets.
The GOP’s main permitting proposal would rewrite one of the nation’s bedrock environmental laws so that federal regulators act more quickly in analyzing projects’ impacts on the environment. But that would not address most of the major legal, financial and practical obstacles that cause projects’ timelines to stretch for years or decades, people experienced in federal energy approvals said.
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