The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held its second hearing this Congress on the issue of federal permitting reform. Witnesses for the hearing were: (1) LiUNA General President Brent Booker; (2) Brendan Bechtel, CEO of Bechtel, on behalf of the Business Roundtable; (3) Dustin Meyer of the American Petroleum Institute; (4) Abigail Ross Hopper of the Solar Energy Industries Association; and (5) David Terry of the National Association of State Energy Officials.
There was general agreement among witnesses and Committee members on the need for permitting reform that is project and technology neutral, provides certainty for approved and permitted projects, reduces redundant administrative reviews, imposes timelines for judicial review, and reduces the ability of any presidential administration to terminate previously approved projects. Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) both stressed the need to act on legislation this year, however, Whitehouse stressed that such legislation cannot advance until the Trump Administration ends its arbitrary actions against offshore wind and other clean/renewable energy projects.