permit certainty
Procedure Versus Substance
Drawing a false dichotomy between procedure and substance does not lead to good policy
“If I let you write the substance and you let me write the procedure, I’ll screw you every time.” Former US Rep. Dingell In the prior post I criticized some of the positions of environmental groups in the debates over the Senate permitting reform bill. But advocates of the bill have also made problematic arguments. …
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CONTINUE READINGHow to Deconstruct Federal Regulation
Section 1401 of the Permitting Reform Bill is a stealth repeal of a wide swath of federal regulatory law, not just environmental law
I want to write separately to emphasize how sweeping the permit certainty provisions of Section 1401 of the permitting reform bill likely are. Again, these are provisions that apply if an agency takes an “action” (which is undefined) against a “project” (also undefined) that “would revoke, rescind, withdraw, terminate, suspend, amend, or alter a Federal …
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CONTINUE READINGImproving permitting reform
Suggestions to make the permitting reform bill work better and avoid unintended results
I’ve written a bunch about the Senate’s permitting reform bill. My basic takeaway is that I want this bill to pass, but that there are some serious flaws in the bill, particularly in the permit certainty provisions, that must be addressed. And in general, there are areas where greater clarity about the scope of the …
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CONTINUE READINGTrying to Create Permit Certainty
A new permitting reform bill does a good job of managing tradeoffs for a difficult problem
Last month two Senators proposed another permitting reform bill, the FREEDOM Act. This is a revised version of a bill that was introduced in the House earlier this year, which I wrote about before. (And yes, if you are having trouble keeping up with all the permitting reform bills floating around, you are not alone.) …
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CONTINUE READINGHow to Create Permit Certainty?
What might be a good path forward for the FREEDOM Act?
This is the third post in a series looking at the most recent proposed legislation for permit certainty, the FREEDOM Act. Part one, discussing why Congress is considering permit certainty and its importance, is here. Part two, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the bill, is here. The good parts of the bill – making …
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CONTINUE READINGAnalyzing the FREEDOM Act
Permit certainty bill has beneficial judicial review provisions, but problematic provisions for damages and compensation.
This is the second post in a series on the FREEDOM Act, a bill in the House of Representatives to address the issue of permit certainty. Part one, explaining why permit certainty is now a hot topic in Congress, is here. All of the reforms in the FREEDOM Act turn on the creation of a …
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CONTINUE READINGThe FREEDOM Act and Permit Certainty
Permit certainty bill has potential, but also some problems that could make it unworkable
As one advocate for permitting reform aptly noted, “permit certainty” is now a prerequisite for any action on permitting reform in this Congress. That’s because the Trump Administration’s war on renewable energy means that Democrats have no desire to do a deal that would not, in practice, make a difference for investment in new clean …
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