Golden’s bipartisan permitting reform bill passes House

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) today celebrated the House’s passage of his bipartisan Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act. The bill, which he first introduced with Republican House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (AR-04) in July, would modernize the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to accelerate federal approval of energy development and other construction projects.

The SPEED Act passed 221-196. It is endorsed by more than 300 local, state, and national organizations, including the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast. The City of Bangor previously submitted a letter of support to the House Natural Resources Committee to describe the bill’s benefits to airport operations at Bangor International Airport.

“The simplest way to make energy, housing, and other essentials more affordable is to make it possible to actually produce enough of it at a reasonable cost. America’s broken permitting system is standing in the way,” Golden said. “The SPEED Act has united workers, businesses, and political forces who usually oppose each other because scarcity hurts everyone, and these reforms represent the lowest hanging fruit in a permitting reform debate that’s been happening for years. I’m grateful to Chairman Westerman for his good-faith partnership throughout this process, and today’s vote sends a clear message to the Senate: The window is finally open to fix our permitting process, so let’s meet the moment.”

The legislation includes a Golden amendment that would block the executive branch from revoking energy permits after approval. Both Presidents Trump and Biden have embraced this tactic to block projects they disapprove of — even those in the final stages of completion. His amendment followed feedback from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, which helped boost the bill’s bipartisan support.

Golden has previously spoken at length about the need to fix America’s broken permitting system, including during the bill’s initial hearing in September.

Full text of the legislation can be found here, and an analysis of the bill — as well as a recent history of permitting reform — from the Bipartisan Policy Center can be found here. 

BACKGROUND:

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a procedural statute that established parameters for assessing the environmental impacts of all major federal actions and created the Council on Environmental Quality. The procedural requirements in NEPA apply to all major federal actions, including but not limited to the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, highways, ports, irrigation systems, forest management, transmission lines, energy projects, broadband and water infrastructure.

While well-intentioned, NEPA has evolved into a cumbersome and lengthy process that has increased costs and permitting timelines. Additionally, NEPA has become a tool used by special interest groups to block critical infrastructure across the country, as it is currently the most litigated environmental statute.

This litigation is most often initiated not by communities or individuals, but by national NGOs. According to the Breakthrough Institute, NGOs filed more than 70 percent of all lawsuits filed under NEPA in recent years. 

According to the report, litigants lose their challenges 80 percent of the time. But what they lost in court, they made up for in delays; Litigation under NEPA added an average of four years to a project’s timeline. These kinds of delays can kill a project even when the litigation against it fails.

The SPEED Act will modernize NEPA to help streamline the permitting process and return the law to its intended purpose. The bill will shorten permitting timelines and reduce the frequency of frivolous litigation. This legislation will simplify the analysis required in NEPA documents, thereby easing the burden on agencies. The bill will also clarify when NEPA is triggered by clarifying the definition of “Major Federal Action.” Lastly, the bill will establish judicial review limitations for NEPA claims, including a 150-day deadline for filing claims, a new standard of review and the elimination of procedural moves that stop projects from moving forward.

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