BREAKING: Sens. Joe Manchin and John Barrasso have unveiled their long-awaited proposal to enact permitting reform and speed up the approval of energy projects. There’s just one hitch: It won’t pass the Senate, according to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer .
The bill: The measure, dubbed the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, is meant to streamline the approval of a wide-range of projects, from renewables to fossil fuels – and addresses judicial review, leasing and permitting for onshore and offshore energy, and transmission reform. The overhaul has been in the works since last year.
Permitting reform has remained a significant priority for lawmakers as a way to shore up the aged energy grid. But it faces long odds. The legislation would speed up the approval of fossil fuel projects – a red line for climate hawks – and would be a tough vote for Democrats as they look to maintain the majority. Schumer told reporters in May that permitting reform would be “virtually impossible” during the election year.
More about the bill: For projects on federal lands, the bill would speed up approval of all energy projects, ranging from renewable energy to fossil fuels. The measure would set deadlines for renewable energy permitting, and double production targets. It also eliminates duplicative permitting requirements for oil and gas production on privately-owned land. The bill streamlines environmental reviews for renewables, sets deadlines for processing applications for federally leasing coal, and modernizes geothermal leasing.
Other things that caught our eye: Notably, the bill also requires the Interior Secretary to hold at least one offshore wind and one offshore oil and gas lease sale every year between 2025-2029 – aiming to end the slowdown of lease sales under the Biden administration, which has offered the lowest level of offshore oil and gas lease sales in history.
The bill also sets a 90-day deadline for the Secretary of Energy to either grant or deny an liquefied natural gas export application – ensuring that a pause, like the one taken by the Biden administration on exports to non-free trade agreement countries, would not be possible in the future. Read more on that here.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment writer Nancy Vu ( @NancyVu99 ), with help from policy editor Joseph Lawler . Email nancy.vu@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here . If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
HARRIS’ GREEN RECORD: Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed liberal positions on climate and energy before joining the Democratic ticket with President Joe Biden in 2020, stances that will now receive much greater scrutiny as she pursues the presidency with Biden’s endorsement, Nancy writes.
While her stances on energy have closely aligned with Biden during their administration, her past record on fossil fuels and climate is to the left of Biden’s positioning and could hurt her changes in fuel-friendly swing states that could determine the November elections.
During her 2019 presidential run, Harris called for a ban on fracking and was one of the original sponsors of the Green New Deal resolution — positions that could come back to bite her in, for instance, the battleground state of Pennsylvania, where natural gas production is a major industry.
Energy and inflation are topics that were expected to have significance heading into November — but will play an even greater role now that the Democratic ticket has undergone upheaval. Read more on that here.
CONGRESSIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Congress is back in session for the next two weeks before the August recess. Here’s a rundown of what to look out for on energy:
Monday : The House is expected to vote on two environmental bills today. One Republican measure, introduced by GOP Rep. Wesley Hunt , would change the way royalty payments are allocated among leaseholders who are looking to develop federal lands, before the Interior Department approves the final allocations.
Currently, until a drilling agreement is signed by the DOI, the first leaseholder must pay any royalties due to Interior for all oil and gas production on the land until the department determines the royalty allocations for each leaseholder. The bill, however, aims to ensure the federal government only charges operators the correct percentage that corresponds with land ownership, and helps the Department of Interior simplify internal accounting errors. Read the bill here.
The other bill, led by Republican Rep. Sam Graves, is a bipartisan measure that would re-authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Program for projects to improve the nation’s water resources infrastructure, such as ports and harbors, along with flood and storm protection. Dubbed the Water Resources Development Act , Congress has passed a bipartisan WRDA every two years since 2014. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has passed its WRDA bill, but it has yet to hit the floor.
These bills are slated for the House floor today at 6:30.
Later this week: The House will vote on two appropriation bills – Energy and Water Development, along with the Interior and Environment – as soon as Tuesday.
Both measures are partisan spending measures that would cut clean energy and climate programs, and are filled with riders that would roll back a number of executive efforts. While they’re not likely to pass, the measures give a glimpse into what Republicans have planned if they were to retake Congress and the White House.
Take a glimpse of the various amendments that are being proposed for the Energy and Water bill, along with Interior and Environment.
EPA CLIMATE POLLUTION GRANTEES SELECTED: The Environmental Protection Agency finalized winners of a competitive grant program allotting $4.3 billion to help states curb greenhouse gas emissions — a move that comes as the agency races to finalize disbursement of funds from Democrats’ 2022 climate law.
The EPA announced Monday it has selected 25 applicants that will fund projects in 30 states to cut pollution in various sectors, such as transportation, electric power, buildings, industry, agriculture and lands, and waste and materials management. The funds make up the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program, which was established by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to help states tackle climate change. The announced grantees represent a second tranche of funds from the program. The first tranche of funds helped states and cities develop climate action plans.
The finalized funds come as the Biden administration is racing to get money out the door that was allotted through the IRA, along with the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. The measures, along with the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act and the 2021 pandemic relief legislation, are all the cornerstones of Biden’s legacy — but are predicated on funds within the laws being rolled out. A second Trump term could run the risk of upheaving the rollout of these laws, with former President Donald Trump threatening to overturn what he calls Biden’s “Green New Scam.” More on that here.
SHIPPING EMISSIONS RISE AMID RED SEA CONFLICTS: Carbon emissions from shipping have increased by 6% this year as ships take longer routes to avoid attacks from Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
As Bloomberg writes , shipping emissions increased by 23 million tons in the first half of 2024, pushing totals to 450 million tons. The increase was the highest among container vessels, which emitted 15% more over the first six months.
But, why? One of the main factors have been attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have been targeting ships in the Red Sea to protest Israel’s war with Hamas, the publication writes. Instead of sailing through the Suez Canal, this forced ships to sail around South Africa instead – adding thousands of miles to their routes.
Sanctions on Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine have also caused its cargoes to be sent elsewhere, such as India, China, and Brazil.
Why is this important: The increase in emissions will make it even harder for ships to decarbonize. The International Maritime Organization has set a voluntary goal for the sector to reach net zero by 2050. But reaching that goal requires a huge transition away from fossil fuels – an energy source the industry still depends on. Read more on that here.
RUNDOWN
E&E News How Harris has previewed her climate campaign
Politico IRA’s biggest climate program has ‘decimal dust’ for oversight
Washington Post Would Trump privatize weather forecasting? What to know.
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