In what may be the final effort to fortify his energy-focused legacy, retiring Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) on Monday advanced legislation yet again to overhaul permitting for natural gas and oil lease sales, as well as to derail the Biden administration’s pause on LNG export approvals.
Manchin, who chairs the Senate Energy & Natural Resources committee, introduced the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 with Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY). The latest bill follows similar legislation that Manchin had proposed but which failed to pass in 2022 and 2023.
“The United States of America is blessed with abundant natural resources that have powered our nation to greatness and allow us to help our friends and allies around the world,” Manchin said. “Unfortunately, today our outdated permitting system is stifling our economic growth, geopolitical strength and ability to reduce emissions.”
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Manchin said after more than a year of committee hearings, as well as “thoughtfully considering input from our colleagues on both sides of the aisle and engaging in good faith negotiations, Ranking Member Barrasso and I have put together a commonsense, bipartisan piece of legislation that will speed up permitting and provide more certainty for all types of energy and mineral projects without bypassing important protections for our environment and impacted communities…
“The time to act on it is now.”
Barrasso concurred. The country’s “disastrous permitting system has shackled American energy production and punished families in Wyoming and across our country,” he said. “Congress must step in and fix this process.”
The legislation would “permanently end” the Biden administration’s pause on approving permits for worldwide liquefied natural gas exports, Barrasso said. “This legislation is an urgent and important first step toward improving our nation’s broken permitting process.”
Under the LNG export provisions, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) would have a 90-day deadline to “grant or deny” applications following environmental reviews, “with applications deemed approved if the Secretary fails to meet the deadline.”
The bill also would ensure “fact-based decision making,” which means DOE would base decisions on “existing LNG economic and emissions studies, unless and until new studies are completed.”
The legislation would, among other things, also establish a 150-day statute of limitations to expedite legal challenges. And the bill would set a 180-day deadline for federal agencies to act on remanded authorizations.
For onshore energy and minerals, the bill would accelerate “leasing and permitting decisions for all types of energy projects on federal lands, without bypassing environmental and land-use laws.”
Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC (MVP), the natural gas conduit now delivering supply from Appalachia to Southeast markets, was caught in a morass of permitting and litigation struggles for almost nine years before beginning service this year. Manchin has often cited MVP as a catalyst for permit reform.
For offshore energy projects, the legislation would require the Interior Department to hold at least one annual wind lease sale and one oil and gas lease sale from 2025 through 2029.
Electric transmission reforms include existing “backstop siting authority for interstate electric transmission lines,” with interregional transmission planning required. Under the electric reliability provisions, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation would be required to assess “future federal regulations significantly affecting power plants and offer formal comments to federal agencies about any effects on electric reliability.”
Too Late For Passage?
Legislation proposed this late in a national election year is likely to face an uphill battle in the narrowly divided Congress. Congress adjourns at the end of September and would not be back in session until after the November elections.
However, several energy groups expressed solid support, including the Energy Workforce & Technology Council, Interstate Natural Gas Association (INGAA), LNG Allies and the Center for LNG (CLNG).
INGAA CEO Amy Andryszak said the “bipartisan permitting reform proposal” would “help advance the buildout of critically needed energy infrastructure, including natural gas pipelines and LNG facilities.
“Reforms to our broken permitting systems are necessary to ensure development of infrastructure to meet growing energy demands and ensure reliability. The senators’ measure takes incremental steps, within the jurisdiction of the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, to improve that system through provisions related to judicial review and the approvals of LNG export facilities,” Andryszak said.
“This renewed attention to permitting reform is encouraging. We hope to see this bill advance and look forward to continued efforts to progress additional complementary legislation that will further reform permitting processes for natural gas pipeline infrastructure.”
LNG Allies CEO Fred Hutchison said the bill “ticks all of our big boxes” regarding the federal LNG decision making process.
CLNG executive director Charlie Riedl said the “U.S. LNG industry needs the regulatory certainty this bill provides, as project developers, suppliers and buyers are and will continue grappling with the negative impacts caused by the U.S. LNG export authorization pause.”
Energy Workforce & Technology Council President Tim Tarpley also weighed in. The reform package is encouraging, he said.
“At a time when energy demand in the United States continues to increase, it is imperative that we build out significant energy infrastructure to meet this need,” Tarpley said. “This legislation is not just necessary; it is critical to our nation's energy future. Without it, we risk falling behind in global energy leadership and innovation.”
Tarpley noted that “critical projects” can be delayed for years because of “unwarranted legal challenges and bureaucratic red tape… It is my hope that both sides of the aisle will support this important piece of legislation and pass it into law before the end of this Congress. The future of American energy security depends on it.”
