Momentum is building behind a bipartisan bill to overhaul the nation’s permitting process after the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee held a Sept. 10 hearing on the legislation.
The Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act, H.R. 4776, introduced by Committee Chairman Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), aims to modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Supporters say the law, passed more than 50 years ago, has become a roadblock to critical infrastructure projects by enabling drawn-out reviews and litigation that delay construction for years.
Industry groups lined up this week to back the bill. The Edison Electric Institute (EEI), which represents investor-owned electric companies, praised the legislation as a “common-sense” fix to an outdated system.
“Streamlining outdated permitting processes will help America’s electric companies better serve our customers and help our nation achieve energy dominance,” said EEI President and CEO Drew Maloney. “We appreciate Chairman Westerman and Rep. Golden’s leadership and urge Congress to advance this common-sense legislation that meaningfully removes roadblocks and supports the infrastructure that powers communities across America.”
The American Petroleum Institute (API) also ramped up its campaign for permitting reform on Sept. 9 ahead of the hearing, unveiling a policy roadmap and launching a national advertising push to pressure lawmakers.
API President and CEO Mike Sommers called Washington’s current system “broken” and argued that reform is needed to meet rising energy demand and control soaring electricity costs.
“American energy is ready to go, but Washington’s broken permitting system is standing in the way,” Sommers said. “As energy demand rises, critical infrastructure to deliver it is stuck behind red tape. It’s time for Congress to act on durable reforms that ensure access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy — because when America builds, America wins.”
Westerman and Golden say their bill would do just that by returning NEPA to its original role as a procedural statute, while setting firm deadlines for reviews, clarifying when the law applies, and limiting lawsuits designed to stall projects.
“Being a good steward of our environment doesn’t mean we must tolerate a years-long permitting process that is onerous, overly complex and ripe for litigation abuse,” Golden said. “America must get back into the business of building. We need modern infrastructure. We need robust power production that does not discriminate between energy sources. These investments will create jobs, support our economy, keep prices down and help us maintain energy independence.”
Westerman framed the legislation as a way to preserve environmental protections while unleashing economic growth.
“Although well-intentioned, NEPA has not kept up with the times, which is bad for both our environment and our economy,” he said. “With common-sense upgrades, we can cut red tape and enable the United States to build once again.”
Additional support came from the American Exploration & Production Council (AXPC), representing independent oil and gas producers, which on Wednesday told the committee that the SPEED Act directly addresses one of the most significant obstacles to America’s energy future.
“This committee’s legislation — the SPEED Act — puts NEPA back on track by addressing the pitfalls of yesterday’s abuse while advancing the needs of today and tomorrow’s energy economy,” wrote Parker Kasmer, vice president of government affairs for AXPC, in a Sept. 10 letter sent to the committee. “The SPEED Act represents a critical, bipartisan step toward durable reforms that are needed across all energy projects to bring efficiency, predictability, and common sense to the federal-permitting system.”
By tightening the review process, streamlining agency reviews, and curbing endless litigation, wrote Kasmer, the bill would restore the “purely procedural” nature of NEPA and ensure that building starts again.
Critics of the bill have argued that weakening NEPA could undermine environmental protections and limit public input on major federal projects.
Testimony during the committee’s hearing yesterday, however, showed that bipartisan backing in the House and a growing coalition of energy, business, and labor groups pressing for change could push the SPEED Act forward as a centerpiece in the broader quest on Capitol Hill to reform permitting.
Jeremy Harrell, CEO of ClearPath, testified that estimates show the U.S. may need to double grid capacity over the coming decades to meet rising demand. Expanding this capacity requires substantial infrastructure that relies on various materials, including lithium, cobalt graphite and nickel, he said.
“Our nation needs a strategy that synchronizes U.S. R&D capabilities with targeted free market incentives, regulatory modernization, and proactive trade policies,” Harrell testified, noting that the strategy should start with three key objectives: restore predictability to the permitting process; streamline review of administrative actions; and de-risk private investment in domestic mining and processing.
When it comes to permitting: time is money, he added, saying delays in the permitting process cost a project one-third of its value, making a project financially unviable.
This results in a “permitting purgatory,” said Harrell, adding that NEPA has been contorted far beyond the original intent of Congress and it shouldn’t be imposing new, substantial requirements.
Thomas Hochman, director of infrastructure policy at the Foundation for American Innovation (FAI), urged Congress to make way for increased energy generation by clarifying what counts as “major federal action;” focusing the scope of NEPA review; and improving judicial review.
FAI also signed a Sept. 4 coalition letter sent to House leaders supporting permitting reform alongside groups including the American Conservation Coalition Action, the American Council on Renewable Energy, the American Exploration & Mining Association, the Consumer Energy Alliance, the Data Center Coalition, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Ocean Industries Association, the National Hydropower Association, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
In their letter, the groups — some of which also testified during the full committee hearing echoing their stances in the letter — urged lawmakers to finish the job of reforming permitting this Congress.
“Faster permitting will mean lower project costs, reduced electricity prices, and more competitive manufacturing,” the coalition members wrote. “It will mean American technology companies can build the data centers needed to lead in artificial intelligence, and it will mean that energy developers can deliver reliable, affordable power when and where it’s needed.”
The SPEED Act, they pointed out, incorporates permitting reform principles that deserve bipartisan support, including:
- Focusing environmental reviews on direct, significant impacts rather than speculative or tangentially related effects;
- Establishing reasonable timelines for agency decision-making while maintaining thorough environmental analysis;
- Streamlining judicial review to ensure certainty and prevent weaponization of the courts against important infrastructure projects; and
- Improving efficiency through greater use of programmatic environmental reviews and categorical exclusions.
Comprehensive permitting reform should also modernize transmission planning and approval processes necessary to build the grid America needs, according to the coalition.
“These reforms should provide an efficient and predictable process for developers proposing projects that improve grid reliability and benefit customers — complemented by robust interregional planning,” the group wrote. “All such reforms should protect customers by ensuring that costs of new infrastructure are only borne by those who benefit, in accordance with the long-standing cost-causation principle.”
The House Natural Resources Committee is still considering H.R. 4776, which was introduced July 25. During Wednesday’s hearing, members also heard testimony on two related bills: the Studying NEPA’s Impact on Projects Act, H.R. 573, introduced Jan. 21 by U.S. Reps. Rudy Yakym (R-IN) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), and the ePermit Act, H.R. 4503, proposed July 17 by U.S. Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) and Scott Peters (D-CA).