THE LATEST: The House of Representatives just passed sweeping permitting reform legislation that will expedite federal review and permitting decisions, deter unwarranted lawsuits, and ensure federal agencies are more transparent and accountable without harming the environment.

Tell President Biden and your senators to support permitting reform.

WHAT TO DO: It takes less than 45 seconds to send the prewritten message telling President Biden and your senators to support permitting reform! You can also add your own personal comments about the need to reduce the regulatory burdens that make it harder to build major infrastructure in America.

WHY IT MATTERS: Waiting years—even more than a decade—to move dirt happens far too often thanks to the federal environmental review and permitting processes. For example:

• Some highway and bridge projects take almost 7 years to complete federal environmental review and permitting processes;
• Transmission lines can take as long as 14 years to permit; and
• Fossil fuels and renewable energy projects can also take several years—some over a decade—to obtain approvals.

Even after a project clears the dozens of regulatory hurdles to obtain the necessary federal approvals, special interest groups or not-in-my-backyard individuals leverage these processes to file lawsuits – sometimes just hoping to delay or even cancel projects.

THE DETAILS:

The Lower Energy Costs Act, H.R. 1, includes a host of reforms that will help address bureaucratic hurdles, mitigate permitting delays, and provide more transparency and accountability at federal agencies by, among other things:

• Reducing redundancy and duplication in the permitting and review process without jeopardizing environmental protections;
• Shortening the statute of limitations for case filings to 120 days after completion of the environmental review;
• Requiring perspective plaintiffs to participate in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process as a pre-requisite for filing a lawsuit after permitting decisions are final.

These improvements will help bring interested parties to the table during the review process so their concerns may be addressed then rather than after the completion of federal review and permitting decisions.