permitting reform
On the theory of permitting certainty
It’s a hard problem to solve. There might be lessons from housing and land-use.
What is being called “permitting certainty” is now a central component of any permitting reform that might pass through this Congress. Permitting certainty is the concept of making it harder for the Executive Branch to capriciously revoke permits based on personal grudges, political vendettas, or other factors that Congress does not wish to be the …
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CONTINUE READINGVeto trouble
Trump’s veto of consensus legislation is trouble for future bipartisan permitting reform.
This week, President Trump vetoed two pieces of legislation, his first vetoes of his second term. There were two unusual points about these vetoes – even for this Administration. First, the bills in question were small, local matters. One bill involved a water project to benefit rural southeastern Colorado. The other bill expanded the scope …
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CONTINUE READINGPoisoning the well
Trump Administration “pause” on offshore wind projects undermines prospect of permitting deal
Yesterday, the Trump Administration announced that it was “pausing” construction for the five major offshore wind projects on the East Coast, based on “national security” grounds – because of the possibility that wind turbines can interfere with radar operations. This announcement is, to say the least, not helpful for current permitting reform discussions. It emphasizes …
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CONTINUE READINGNEPA Reform and Transmission
Reducing NEPA compliance alone won’t solve our transmission problems, and it might be a bad deal for the climate
The recent passage of the SPEED Act highlights one angle in current permitting reform debates: A focus on NEPA, which as a procedural statute might be more feasible to reform than other substantive statutes. Advocates for the SPEED Act have argued that it will help with a range of infrastructure projects, including transmission. But a …
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CONTINUE READINGPermit Certainty
Revised SPEED Act tries to give certainty to permit holders, and probably fails.
The SPEED Act will be up for a vote in the House of Representatives later this week, and the vote will likely be close. The Act is an effort to do permitting reform for NEPA compliance, in theory to accelerate reviews and provide more certainty about what those reviews cover. I’ve already provided an assessment …
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CONTINUE READINGOf Pistachios and Water Features
What might be included in the SB 131’s CEQA exemption for advanced manufacturing may surprise you
One of the most controversial provisions of SB 131, which created a range of new CEQA exemptions, was an exemption for “a facility for advanced manufacturing, as defined in Section 26003, if the project is located on a site zoned exclusively for industrial uses.” But what on earth might that cover? Is this a broad …
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CONTINUE READINGA start on feasible permitting reform
A proposal from the National Governors’ Association is narrow and focused, and that’s good
I’ve written recently about the difficult politics of permitting reform at the federal level. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t important work to be done. It does mean that successful proposals will have to be, as I wrote, low salience, thoughtful, and unlikely to provoke polarization. The National Governors’ Association has just come out …
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CONTINUE READINGHow broad does Clean Water Act 401 certification sweep?
Recent disputes over infrastructure projects highlights the importance of the question
Another issue for ping-pong governance over the past few years has been certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. For those of you who are not deep into the weeds of the Clean Water Act, Section 401 requires (a) federal agencies that are issuing licenses or permits that (b) result in discharges to …
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CONTINUE READINGProblem solved?
Bipartisan proposal for permitting reform from Problem Solvers Caucus is a good first step, but has much more work to do
The permitting reform conversation continues in Congress – this time with a long set of proposals from the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, based on a range of conversations with different stakeholders and interest groups. There is much that is good in this set of proposals, but there are also proposals that require more thought, or …
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CONTINUE READINGReinventing NEPA
What do we really want NEPA to do? And what’s the best way to do it?
Imagining reform legislation from Congress is difficult, but it’s worth imagining, if only as a thought experiment, how we could do better. I would suggest we start by asking what we can expect NEPA to accomplish after fifty years of judicial decisions and agency practice – and whether there are better ways of accomplishing those things.
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