Problem Solvers Caucus Permitting Reform Outline
The Problem Solvers Caucus, which is a bipartisan group of 49 House members, released a permitting reform outline led by Scott Peters (D-CA-50) and Gabe Evans (R-CO-08).
The outline is broadly similar to last year's Energy Permitting Reform Act (EPRA). Crucially, it addresses transmission lines in a similar way to EPRA, including:
- Allowing for the designation of individual national interest high-impact transmission lines for expedited permitting
- Requiring FERC to initiate inter-regional transmission planning
- Promoting grid-enhancing technologies
There's some good stuff specifically for geothermal, nuclear, and hydropower permitting as well. And there are items that progressives will have to compromise on, like judicial reforms (reducing the statute of limitations for lawsuits to somewhere between 150 days and 1 year), NEPA reforms, the Rosemont mining decision, and limiting the applicability of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (which I discussed a bit in this blog).
Peters also acknowledged the challenge that @Peter Joseph recently raised here, that “It’s hard to get a deal unless we resolve" the Trump administration's blocking of solar and wind project permits. But Peters noted that in the meantime, Congress can continue crafting a good comprehensive bipartisan permitting reform bill, and hope they can somehow resolve that challenge.
We still need to see specific legislative text before CCL can take a position on this proposal (the devil is always in the details!), but it seems like a good outline to work from.
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