WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin wants to cut the red tape that ties up the permit process for energy and mineral projects.
As chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Manchin (D-W.Va.) conducted a hearing May 11 to examine ways Congress can update and expedite permitting. At least four Senate bills have been introduced – including one by Manchin and another by U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) – to speed and smooth the process.
Manchin said such reform is necessary for energy reliability through the use of all types of energy, and the bipartisan recognition that permitting reform is vital to ensuring America’s energy security.
“I’m committed to continuing to convene my colleagues for open dialogue and negotiations,” Manchin said during the hearing. “Now, just as we did with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, we all need to sit down and negotiate in good faith—putting politics aside—to craft the Bipartisan Permitting Reform Bill …
“I would like for all of you and everyone in the room here, if you will when you leave this room, support bipartisan permitting reform. Not my bill, not Senator (John) Barrasso’s (D-Wyoming) bill, not Senator Capito’s bill, not Senator Tom Carper’s (D-Delaware) bill, whoever is putting bills up — we need a little bit of all four of them to make this work.
“We can get together much quicker if we’re all in this, and I think we are. We want this done and everybody wants it done.”
During the hearing, Manchin discussed the Mountain Valley Pipeline and high-voltage transmission as examples of how the current permitting processes is delaying vital energy infrastructure projects that would strengthen our energy and national security.
“The Mountain Valley Pipeline has been undergoing permitting and litigation for more than eight years,” he said. “That includes eight National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews and nine court cases in the Fourth Circuit. And siting, permitting, litigation, and decision-making on how to pay for long-distance, high voltage transmission lines tie up these projects for over a decade, if they ever get built.
“These challenges threaten the reliability of our grid. Some reforms will help all sectors – such as setting and enforcing deadlines, expediting litigation, and more. Some will require sector-specific fixes. But no energy sector is immune to permitting roadblocks. Despite every administration and Congress in recent memory — and every sector of the energy industry —identifying permitting reform as a vital need, the problem is getting worse, not better.”
Manchin also criticized President Joe Biden’s stance on the issue.
“The whole purpose of the Inflation Reduction Act is energy security,” Manchin said. “This administration has been unable to use the word energy security, all they use is climate, and I have corrected them, and I will continue to correct them. It is energy security.
“We can invest in the technology of the future that we’re all going to need and mature that, but we’re not going to eliminate something before we have something to replace it with. And if you think we’re doing something wrong by having fossil and clean technology, go look at Europe, look at what happened. We’re not going to repeat that mistake.”
Manchin also discussed the Environmental Protection Agency’s delay in permitting Class IV wells and carbon capture utilization and sequestration technologies.
“If the EPA does not give us permits for Class VI wells, which they have not, that means they’re trying to strangle you by a thousand cuts,” he said. “They’re trying to go one way without the other. They know it’s a balanced approach.
“So don’t tell me you’re going to invest in carbon capture sequestration when we can’t get a permit to sequester the carbon we capture. These are the games that are being played. I know it, they know I know it, and we’re not going to let them get away with it. And we will shut everything down until they start playing exactly how the (IRA) was written and the intent.
“So, I want all of you to know that very clearly so if you can talk to the administration, tell them we’re all on the same side — we want energy security, we want fossil cleaner than anywhere else in the world, and we want to develop the new technology for the future.”
Last week, the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce praised Capito's plan, which is called the Revitalizing the Economy by Simplifying Timelines and ssuring Regulatory Transparency (RESTART) Act.
Chamber President Steve Roberts said it would make a number of substantive reforms designed to expedite the permitting process that is a key component of economic development and job creation projects. He also praised Capito for being "a leader in bringing together senators from both parties in a bi-partisan fashion and this bill promises to be one of those issues where real progress can be made to improve the lives of our citizens.”
"The United States is blessed with vast natural resources that can guarantee energy security and independence for our country and our allies, but all too often we see pipelines and manufacturing facilities be held up for years while permits are challenged by opposing groups," Roberts said. "This bill makes important changes to our laws to ensure that our environment is being protected but that qualified projects can quickly move forward.
"The war in Ukraine has certainly made it clear that available and affordable energy is critical for the survival of free countries. Unfortunately, our current permitting process and legal situation has delayed or prevented the development of major energy projects such as the Mountain Valley Pipeline and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. This must change.”