Washington, DC – Tuesday, July 23, 2024 – The bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 introduced by Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Joe Manchin (I-WV) will modernize the energy permitting system to meet increasing energy demand and maintain American energy leadership. ClearPath Action supports this legislation.

“Energy demand could double in the coming decades. In order to keep up with the need for more clean energy, we need to let America build,” said Jeremy Harrell, CEO of ClearPath Action. “Today, you can get a college degree faster than it takes to get a permit to develop new clean energy resources — that simply has to change. Sens. Barrasso and Manchin have put together some initial common-sense reforms to bring our permitting system up to date and further the United States as a global leader in clean energy production.”

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.

“If you pair common-sense reforms like these with the important legislation Congress just passed with the ADVANCE Act to improve permitting for nuclear energy, the U.S. is on its way to energy dominance,” added Harrell.

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