Alternative headlines:
Trump administration officials say they are moving to speed up permits for pipelines, power lines and other energy projects without waiting for Congress to act.
The biggest change is coming from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which approves projects that touch wetlands and waterways. It is preparing a rule that would greatly expand its fast-track permits, officials said Tuesday, according to the Daily Caller.
Two years of waiting, nothing getting built
Lee Forsgren, who is performing the duties of the Army’s assistant secretary for civil works, spoke on a panel at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting.
He said the Corps is about to send the White House Office of Management and Budget a rulemaking to “significantly expand” its nationwide permits. Those are general permits for projects with small environmental effects. They let builders skip the slow, case-by-case review.
The Corps handles about 100,000 activities a year, and more than half already go through nationwide permits. Individual permits, the Daily Caller reported, take at least a year and often two.
“Nothing is being approved during that permitting time,” Forsgren said.
What would change
According to the report, the Corps could raise the half-acre limit on nationwide permits to as much as two acres. Forsgren said the Corps will also look for ways to make energy, pipeline and transmission projects easier to permit. Those projects can already use nationwide permits, but with tight limits.
Forsgren’s goal is to finish Corps permits in about 45 days. Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden pointed to a Louisiana fertilizer plant that was permitted on that kind of timeline. The Blue Point project, a venture of CF Industries, JERA and Mitsui, broke ground in August. It is expected to make 1.4 million metric tons of ammonia a year starting in 2029.
That is the difference fast permits make: American fertilizer, made in America, for American farmers.
EPA and Interior join in
Other agencies on the panel described similar efforts.
Interior Deputy Secretary Kate MacGregor said permitting for power lines is “one of the areas of greatest … litigation in the country.” She said “we need aggressive action,” and added that Endangered Species Act consultations have been tough.
EPA Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi said the agency is handing more permitting programs to the states, which can often run them faster. He also said EPA expects to finalize a lasting definition of “waters of the U.S.” in the coming months. The comment period closed Oct. 9. It would be the fourth definition in a decade, and officials said they hope it is the last.
Fotouhi pointed to other savings already on the books, according to the Daily Caller:
- Repealing the 2009 “endangerment finding” and vehicle greenhouse gas rules, with projected savings of $1.2 trillion.
- Repealing most Biden-era power plant greenhouse gas limits, finalized Sept. 14, with projected savings of $310 billion.
- Cutting about 5,000 EPA employees, leaving roughly 12,500, while reducing permit backlogs.
Congress is still stuck
A bipartisan Senate permitting deal would limit lawsuits against projects. The Daily Caller News Foundation reported it could give opponents 150 days to sue under two federal review laws, instead of six years.
But a floor vote is not expected until the lame-duck session after the midterms. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is confident it will pass. Democrats have tied their support to letting previously approved wind projects go forward.
In the meantime, the agencies are using the authority they already have.
The bottom line
When a permit takes two years, the cost lands on everyone. Power lines are not built, pipelines stall, and families pay more for electricity and fuel. Nothing in that delay protects anyone. It just protects the lawyers and the process.
The administration is doing what it can with the authority it already has: wider general permits, more power for the states, and a firm definition of federal waters so landowners know where they stand.
Congress should finish the job by limiting endless lawsuits. Until it does, a 45-day permit is a lot better than a two-year wait.