APPA recently released an update of its permitting reform principles outlining its specific objectives in streamlining federal permitting.
“APPA supports efforts in Congress to streamline the federal permitting and siting process, eliminate excessive regulatory barriers, and ensure more predictable and timely decisions from federal agencies,” it noted.
“Despite abundant resources and potential projects to meet the rapidly growing demand for electricity, permitting red tape has slowed energy infrastructure development to a crawl and made projects more expensive,” it said.
"Utility customers ultimately pay the high cost of slow, cumbersome permitting rules,” APPA said in the update.
General Reforms
APPA said that Congress should:
• Prioritize infrastructure-neutral permitting reform to ensure public power utilities have the clarity and certainty necessary to invest in the generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure they need to continue providing reliable and affordable power to the communities they serve.
• Digitalize the permitting process and create an interagency sharing portal for information that is secure and meets all agency firewall restrictions. This portal should enable file sharing, coordination, and notifications to all agencies simultaneously when a document is uploaded; and
• Provide sustained funding and support training to ensure agencies have sufficient resources and personnel to accelerate coordinated reviews and permits.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Reforms
Sensible reforms to NEPA will help public power utilities invest in generation and transmission infrastructure in a timely and cost-effective manner, while maintaining appropriate environmental oversight, APPA said.
The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, CO (No. 23-975) affirms that NEPA proceedings should be narrowly focused on the effects of the specific “proposed action” under consideration and not future projects that may be built as a result of the “immediate project under consideration.”
The decision also affirms that federal agencies have broad discretion to limit the analysis of environmental impacts of a project.
APPA supports H.R. 4776, the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act, authored by Representative Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Jared Golden (D-ME).
Clean Water Act (CWA) Reforms
Electric utilities require water to cool their generation facilities, ensuring the facilities remain operational to meet electricity demand. “Streamlining the CWA permitting process to prevent delays and increase regulatory certainty when constructing new infrastructure or maintaining existing infrastructure will ensure public power utilities can reliably provide electricity while remaining stewards of the nation’s waterways,” APPA said.
APPA supports H.R. 3898, the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure (PERMIT) Act, authored by Representative Mike Collins (R-GA), and encourages Congress to pass the legislation to:
• Clarify Section 401 Permitting Requirements
• Codify the Longstanding WOTUS Exclusion for Waste Treatment Systems
• Modify and Expand the Nationwide Permit Program
• Limit Unnecessary Litigation
Electric Transmission Reforms
Transmission planning and permitting are distinct issues, APPA noted. Planning involves determining which transmission projects are needed to deliver power to communities reliably. Transmission planners nationwide have already identified dozens of new, regional, and interregional transmission projects that will cost hundreds of billions of dollars to build, it said.
“Most of these projects are necessary for reliability and load growth. These planned transmission projects must obtain permits from federal, state, and local authorities before construction. If trends persist, one-third of projects needing federal permits will face litigation, likely over alleged NEPA violations.”
APPA said Congress can facilitate new electric transmission by reducing federal permit roadblocks, including reforming NEPA.
APPA said:
• Congress must maintain -- and not expand -- the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) authority over non-jurisdictional utilities, as defined under section 201(f) of the Federal Power Act
• Each region of the country is best suited to determine whether interregional transmission will improve reliability at the lowest reasonable cost; and
• Congress should maintain the existing beneficiary-pays cost allocation principle
Hydropower Licensing Reform
Hydropower is a reliable and non-emitting source of baseload energy critical to the stability of the electric grid, APPA noted.
“Nearly half of the nonfederal hydropower fleet, responsible for providing 17GW of clean, flexible power to approximately 13 million U.S. homes, will be up for relicensing by 2035.2 On average, relicensing an existing hydropower facility takes between seven and ten years to complete and can cost millions of dollars. The current process is uncertain and expensive, and many hydropower asset owners are in the process of deciding whether to extend or surrender their licenses,” it said.
“The country cannot afford to lose existing hydropower capacity without impacting reliability,” it said.
APPA encouraged Congress to:
• Limit Mandatory Conditions to Address Project Effects Only
• Clarify that Routine Maintenance & Minor Alterations Are Not New Federal Actions
• Modernize Trial-Type Hearings & Alternative Conditions Procedures
Endangered Species Act (ESA) Reforms
With respect to ESA reforms, APPA said that the definition of “habitat” should be clearly defined, allowance off-sets outside the scope of the action area should be minimal and permitting deadlines must be aligned to the extent possible.
