Senators Introduce Bill to Shorten Approval Time of Energy and Mining Projects

A bill sponsored by Senate Energy Committee Chairman Joe Manchin and Senator John Barrasso proposes giving the Department of Energy 90 days to approve new LNG export projects and aims to shorten approval times for energy and mining projects.

“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 in a press release. “Unfortunately, today our outdated permitting system is stifling our economic growth, geopolitical strength, and ability to reduce emissions.”

To address the problem, the two legislators “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.”

In a news story on the bill, Bloomberg noted that it was unlikely to be passed as it is but it could make an important part of future energy legislation during the next Congress.

The focus of the bill is on shortening approval times for new energy and mining projects, as well as grid expansion projects that regulators have warned are essential for a changing energy system that relies increasingly on wind and solar generation capacity.

Manchin and Barrasso are among vocal critics of President Biden’s so-called pause on new LNG export capacity approvals, which came into effect earlier this year under pressure from climate activists, who argued natural gas is even worse for the climate than coal. The move prompted more than a dozen states to sue the federal government. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Louisiana blocked the pause.

In his ruling, Judge Cain said that the government’s move had been arbitrary, capricious, and unconstitutional and that it had violated the Natural Gas Act. Judge Cain added that the Department of Energy had gone “above and beyond its scope of authority.”

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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