Following sustained SWACCA advocacy in support of meaningful, bipartisan permitting reform, Senate Environment and Public Works and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee leadership released the American Affordability and Jobs Act, a broad package aimed at accelerating permitting and providing greater certainty for energy and infrastructure projects.
The bill includes several reforms to provide greater predictability for construction projects that SWACCA has advocated for, including generally requiring lawsuits challenging completed environmental reviews and federal permit decisions to be filed within 150 days. The bill would also generally prevent federal agencies from revoking, suspending, or altering previously issued permits and approvals for non-federal projects except in limited circumstances. It would require federal agencies, to the maximum extent practicable, to conduct environmental reviews and other permitting actions concurrently rather than sequentially and use a single environmental document for multi-agency reviews.
The package also makes significant changes to Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act permitting, including narrowing the grounds states can use to block or condition federally permitted projects, setting a nine-month deadline for state water quality reviews, and extending certain water permits from five to 10 years.
SWACCA will continue working with lawmakers as the Senate is expected to consider the bill during lame-duck session following the midterm elections.