Washington, DC – Wednesday, July 31, 2024 – The bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 introduced by Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Joe Manchin (I-WV) passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today 15-4. This bill will modernize the energy permitting system to meet increasing energy demand and maintain American energy leadership. ClearPath Action supports this legislation.

“This strong bipartisan effort shows that permitting reform remains at the top of Congress’ to-do list. These reforms will let America build the new energy infrastructure we need to meet rising demand,” said Jeremy Harrell, CEO of ClearPath Action. “These initial common-sense reforms, along with those passed in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, set the stage for the 118th Congress to enact the biggest suite of permitting reforms in a generation. Given the Committee’s jurisdictional boundaries, we believe there is more work to be done on judicial review. We look forward to strengthening those provisions as the process unfolds.”

This bipartisan legislation addresses a handful of permitting problems affecting technologies including natural gas, critical minerals, renewables, and enabling infrastructure like pipelines and transmission. This bill includes important bipartisan bicameral geothermal permitting provisions, including a new categorical exclusion for resource confirmation activities, similar to a provision for certain oil and gas exploration activities on federal lands enacted by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Specifically, the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 will:

• Shorten litigation timelines for energy and mineral project permits by establishing a 150-day statute of limitations after final agency action on a project and requires courts to expedite review of legal challenges.
• Allow agencies to reuse existing reviews and requires the Departments of Interior and Agriculture to issue categorical exclusions (CatEx) for low disturbance or previously studied activities for renewable energy projects.
• Accelerate permitting for geothermal energy production on federal lands by implementing new CatExs, improving Bureau of Land Management (BLM) field office coordination, and eliminating delays after permits have been approved.

Click here for the printable PDF.


MEDIA CONTACT Emily Johnson
emily@clearpathaction.org
(678) 761-1864

About ClearPath Action
ClearPath Action 501(c)(4) advocates for more clean energy innovation, modernized permitting and regulatory reform, America’s global competitiveness for manufacturing, and unlocking more American resources — solutions drawn from our friends at ClearPath. Learn more at clearpathaction.org. Follow us on Twitter: @ClearPathAction, @powellrich