The future of permitting reform: What to expect as a climate advocate

By Katie Zakrzewski

With CCL’s recent policy expansion came the addition of Permitting Reform to our environmental concerns. But with legislation around the corner in the 118th Congress, you may be wondering about the specifics of permitting reform, how it impacts our environmental work, and what lies around the bend. CCL’s Senior Director of Communications, Flannery Winchester, provides a legislative update in the video below. Watch and read on for a better understanding of permitting reform. 

House Republicans propose the Lower Energy Costs Act

At the end of February, E&E News reported that House Republicans were working on multiple bills that would ultimately be part of a “sweeping” energy and permitting reform package that would come to the floor at the end of March. There have already been a few hearings in different House committees to start to explore those initial bills. 

The Biden administration has been talking about this, too. At an event earlier this month, White House Energy Adviser John Podesta said permitting reform was high on the administration’s agenda. He said that the permitting process for clean energy infrastructure is “plagued by delays and bottlenecks” and that “there’s plenty that we can do and must do federally.” This means that legislation is needed to update permitting processes in a way that preserves community input, while letting us build and connect a lot of clean energy, fast.

On Wednesday of last week, House Republicans unveiled their energy and permitting reform package, which they’re calling the “Lower Energy Costs Act.” They gave it bill number H.R. 1, and the Speaker of the House, California Republican Kevin McCarthy, said in a video, “We can streamline permitting and still protect the environment. That’s a goal worthy of the number one.”

As with any major policy, the first version is not what’s going to get across the finish line. Our legislative team and others in D.C. are thinking of this package as just the opening bid in the permitting discussion. 

“This is just the starting point for Republicans’ negotiation,” says Ben Pendergrass, CCL Vice President of Government Affairs. Ben emphasizes that volunteers shouldn’t get too wrapped up in the specifics of these first pieces of legislation, as this is just a starting point. 

How can you get involved?

Permitting reform, as with most legislation, will be an evolving topic throughout the course of this Congress. We’ll keep you posted as legislation develops.

For now, you can continue to educate yourself, your chapter, and your community about the opportunities presented by clean Energy Permitting Reform. As the conversation in Congress advances, you’ll be ready to contribute and steer your representatives in the right direction. Additionally, attend our June conference and lobby day in person on Capitol Hill for the opportunity to tell your lawmakers in person just how important permitting reform is. 

Here are a few resources to help you do just that:

• Register for the CCL June conference and lobby day
• Clean Energy Permitting Reform training page on CCL Community
• Clean energy permitting reform session from CCL’s December conference
• Op-ed template about Inflation Reduction Act climate wins and permitting reform

What is permitting reform?

Permitting reform refers to a process of updating and streamlining regulations and procedures related to obtaining permits for various activities, such as building construction, land development, or environmental projects. The goal of permitting reform is to simplify and expedite the permit application process while ensuring that necessary environmental and safety standards are met. The aim of permitting reform is to make it easier and less costly for businesses, organizations, and individuals to obtain permits, thereby encouraging economic growth and investment in infrastructure and development projects while still protecting the environment and public safety. 

CCL supports the reformation of America’s clean energy permitting process, as this is a crucial step in making sure that passed legislation is put into action in a timely manner. For us at CCL, permitting reform means speeding up the pace at which we build and connect new clean energy projects, and that’s a huge part of passing climate legislation to meet our clean energy goals by 2030 and beyond. 

How will permitting reform affect the environment?

Clean energy permitting reform, in particular, speeds up the pace of integrating environmental policy into law, such as many of the guidelines and innovations set forward by the Inflation Reduction Act. Permitting reform is crucial if we plan to reach America’s climate goals in time. Clean energy permitting reform removes a backlog of clean energy projects, allowing for these projects with great potential to begin instead of continuing to wait for authorization permits. 

Clean energy permitting reform creates jobs in rural areas through the creation of new clean energy projects, which bring economic benefits and jobs to areas with growing clean energy sectors. Finally, the quicker the inclusion of climate policies such as those seen in the Inflation Reduction Act, the quicker we can help prevent up to 180,000 premature American deaths as a result of air pollution, as well as a host of other climate-related and intensified events. 

Key parts to clean energy permitting reform

There are two key parts to successful energy permitting reform: siting and building clean energy projects, and transmitting that clean energy across the country.

Right now, it takes an average of 4.5 years for federal agencies to complete the environmental impact statements needed for major energy projects. These are important assessments, but we need them to move faster and speed up the pace with which we build new clean energy projects.

In the past decade, the U.S. has expanded our electricity transmission infrastructure at a pace of just 1% per year. We’ve got to speed up the pace with which we build and connect new transmission lines. Ultimately, we need to triple our current capacity to transmit clean electricity by 2050. Thanks to the environmental provisions included in the Inflation Reduction Act, the clean energy revolution is ready — we just need to cut some red tape by passing permitting reform legislation.

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