Released April 22, 2022 | SUGAR LAND
en
Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Reaction to the Biden administration's finalized changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a bedrock U.S. environmental protection rule, was sharply split this week, with industry groups and Republicans opposing the move to reverse changes enacted by the Trump administration, and Democrats and environmental groups applauding the finalization.
The final NEPA regulation, unveiled Tuesday by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), is the first part of a two-phase effort by the Biden administration to protect the environment. Regarding Phase II, set for release in draft form later this year, environmental groups said they'd be watching carefully to ensure the issues they deem important are fully addressed.
Tuesday's Phase I final regulation continued a multi-year back-and-forth effort over environmental protection and bureaucratic delays for projects requiring federal government approval, such as interstate electric transmission lines, oil and gas pipelines that cross state lines, oil and gas development on public lands, highway construction, logging and certain renewable energy projects.
In 2020, the Trump administration narrowed the scope of NEPA, a law first enacted by Congress in 1969 and revised in 1978. Last year, the Biden administration unveiled draft rules to reverse much of what his predecessor did. For more on those moves, see July 17, 2020, article - Trump Administration Finalizes Changes to Major Environmental Law and October 8, 2021, article - Biden Administration Seeks to Undo Changes to Major Environmental Law Implemented by Trump Administration.
Tuesday's final Phase I NEPA regulation addressed three critical areas, according to CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory:
The finalized Phase I changes to NEPA apparently did not undo a key provision of the Trump administration's changes: Reviews of projects requiring a full environmental impact statement (EIS) had to be complete within two years. Less-comprehensive environmental reviews had to be finished in one year.
The CEQ said it will be proposing Phase II revisions to NEPA in the coming months "that will provide further improvements to the efficiency and effectiveness of environmental review processes and reflect the Administration's commitment to achieving environmental justice and confronting climate change." It said the rule changes implemented by the Trump administration "caused implementation challenges for agencies and sowed confusion among stakeholders and the general public."
Business interests, including the American Petroleum Institute (API), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) claimed the newly finalized rule would slow energy and infrastructure development, erode U.S. energy security, cost jobs and sap the effort to support Ukraine, which was invaded in late February by Russia.
In a statement, Frank Macchiarola, API's senior vice president of policy, economics and regulatory affairs, said: "With energy costs high for American consumers and European allies looking to the U.S. for access to an affordable and stable energy supply, we need policies in place that provide certainty and ensure American producers can meet rising demand at home and abroad. The administration's NEPA rewrite adds more bureaucratic red tape into the permitting process, not only for natural gas and oil but for hydrogen, carbon capture utilization and sequestration, wind and solar."
"Once again," the API executive continued, "the administration's policy actions aren't matching their rhetoric regarding the need for more American energy production. We urge the administration to change course and establish a timely and efficient permitting process that supports the energy security needs of the U.S. and our allies overseas."
Jay Timmons, president and chief executive of the NAM, said this: "During this time of alarming global turmoil, we must do everything in our power to protect our energy security and increase domestic manufacturing--not only to maintain economic growth and deliver relief to American families but also to ensure we can continue leading the world in supporting the people of Ukraine."
"Today's NEPA permitting announcement misses the larger point that we need to be pursuing a clear strategy to harness every possible source of energy here in the United States," Timmons continued in a statement. "Even though the administration kept many of the reforms the NAM had fought for, this does not provide the predictability and streamlined permitting we need. And if the next step in this process is derailed by unrealistic agendas, then America will feel the pain of a weaker economy, diminished national security and slower implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure law."
Energy company Enbridge Incorporated (NYSE:ENB) (Calgary, Alberta), whose efforts to overhaul a deteriorating oil pipeline across Minnesota have been blocked by NEPA litigation, wanted to keep some of the Trump-era changes to the law.
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Enbridge spokesman Michael Barnes said the company is reviewing Tuesday's changes. He referred to the company's previous statement that, "reverting to less efficient and predictable NEPA regulations will not just affect oil and gas pipelines but will delay and complicate the development of new energy facilities and infrastructure."
Tuesday's final NEPA rule drew a, "good start, let's see what you've got for Phase II" response from Democratic elected officials and environmental groups.
"I'm glad this administration recognizes how egregiously wrong (the Trump administration's) actions were and is moving forward to restore the protections that have helped protect our environment while promoting sustainable development for decades," said Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-Arizona.), chair of the House Natural Resources Committee.
Added Sean Gallagher, vice president of state & regulatory affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA): "SEIA is pleased to see the CEQ work to implement new rules of the road for agencies conducting NEPA reviews. The Phase I rule provides regulatory certainty for project developers who expect to build close to 3,000 megawatts of new solar energy capacity on federal lands over the next several years. These projects are critical to this administration's clean energy goals and will support 15,000 jobs and avoid nearly 7 million tons of CO2 emissions annually."
"We look forward to reviewing CEQ's proposed Phase II rule soon and urge the Council to continue to reform its NEPA rules and guidance to facilitate the rapid development of renewable energy infrastructure," he continued.
No group on either side of the issue threatened to litigate the final rule, though several environmental groups said they would not withdraw their lawsuits until they saw Phase II of the rule change modified.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the world's leading provider of market intelligence across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and all other major industrial markets. IIR's Global Market Intelligence Platform (GMI) supports our end-users across their core businesses, and helps them connect trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated project opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.
The final NEPA regulation, unveiled Tuesday by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), is the first part of a two-phase effort by the Biden administration to protect the environment. Regarding Phase II, set for release in draft form later this year, environmental groups said they'd be watching carefully to ensure the issues they deem important are fully addressed.
Tuesday's Phase I final regulation continued a multi-year back-and-forth effort over environmental protection and bureaucratic delays for projects requiring federal government approval, such as interstate electric transmission lines, oil and gas pipelines that cross state lines, oil and gas development on public lands, highway construction, logging and certain renewable energy projects.
In 2020, the Trump administration narrowed the scope of NEPA, a law first enacted by Congress in 1969 and revised in 1978. Last year, the Biden administration unveiled draft rules to reverse much of what his predecessor did. For more on those moves, see July 17, 2020, article - Trump Administration Finalizes Changes to Major Environmental Law and October 8, 2021, article - Biden Administration Seeks to Undo Changes to Major Environmental Law Implemented by Trump Administration.
Tuesday's final Phase I NEPA regulation addressed three critical areas, according to CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory:
- It restored the requirement that federal agencies evaluate all the relevant environmental impacts of the decisions they are making. This proposed change ensures that agencies will consider the "direct," "indirect" and "cumulative" impacts of a proposed action, including by fully evaluating climate change impacts and assessing the consequences of releasing additional pollution in communities that are already overburdened by polluted air or dirty water.
- It restored the full authority of agencies to work with communities to develop and analyze alternative approaches that could minimize environmental and public health costs. This proposed change would give agencies the flexibility to determine the "purpose and need" of a proposed project based on a variety of factors, and to work with project proponents and communities to mitigate or avoid environmental harms by analyzing common sense alternatives. The 2020 NEPA rule limited federal agencies' ability to develop and consider alternative designs or approaches that do not fully align with the stated goals of the project's sponsor, often a private company.
- It established CEQ's NEPA regulations as a floor, rather than a ceiling, for the environmental review standards that federal agencies should be meeting. This proposal restores the ability of federal agencies to tailor their NEPA procedures, consistent with the CEQ NEPA regulations, to help meet the specific needs of their agencies, the public, and stakeholders.
The finalized Phase I changes to NEPA apparently did not undo a key provision of the Trump administration's changes: Reviews of projects requiring a full environmental impact statement (EIS) had to be complete within two years. Less-comprehensive environmental reviews had to be finished in one year.
The CEQ said it will be proposing Phase II revisions to NEPA in the coming months "that will provide further improvements to the efficiency and effectiveness of environmental review processes and reflect the Administration's commitment to achieving environmental justice and confronting climate change." It said the rule changes implemented by the Trump administration "caused implementation challenges for agencies and sowed confusion among stakeholders and the general public."
Business interests, including the American Petroleum Institute (API), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) claimed the newly finalized rule would slow energy and infrastructure development, erode U.S. energy security, cost jobs and sap the effort to support Ukraine, which was invaded in late February by Russia.
In a statement, Frank Macchiarola, API's senior vice president of policy, economics and regulatory affairs, said: "With energy costs high for American consumers and European allies looking to the U.S. for access to an affordable and stable energy supply, we need policies in place that provide certainty and ensure American producers can meet rising demand at home and abroad. The administration's NEPA rewrite adds more bureaucratic red tape into the permitting process, not only for natural gas and oil but for hydrogen, carbon capture utilization and sequestration, wind and solar."
"Once again," the API executive continued, "the administration's policy actions aren't matching their rhetoric regarding the need for more American energy production. We urge the administration to change course and establish a timely and efficient permitting process that supports the energy security needs of the U.S. and our allies overseas."
Jay Timmons, president and chief executive of the NAM, said this: "During this time of alarming global turmoil, we must do everything in our power to protect our energy security and increase domestic manufacturing--not only to maintain economic growth and deliver relief to American families but also to ensure we can continue leading the world in supporting the people of Ukraine."
"Today's NEPA permitting announcement misses the larger point that we need to be pursuing a clear strategy to harness every possible source of energy here in the United States," Timmons continued in a statement. "Even though the administration kept many of the reforms the NAM had fought for, this does not provide the predictability and streamlined permitting we need. And if the next step in this process is derailed by unrealistic agendas, then America will feel the pain of a weaker economy, diminished national security and slower implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure law."
Energy company Enbridge Incorporated (NYSE:ENB) (Calgary, Alberta), whose efforts to overhaul a deteriorating oil pipeline across Minnesota have been blocked by NEPA litigation, wanted to keep some of the Trump-era changes to the law.
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Enbridge spokesman Michael Barnes said the company is reviewing Tuesday's changes. He referred to the company's previous statement that, "reverting to less efficient and predictable NEPA regulations will not just affect oil and gas pipelines but will delay and complicate the development of new energy facilities and infrastructure."
Tuesday's final NEPA rule drew a, "good start, let's see what you've got for Phase II" response from Democratic elected officials and environmental groups.
"I'm glad this administration recognizes how egregiously wrong (the Trump administration's) actions were and is moving forward to restore the protections that have helped protect our environment while promoting sustainable development for decades," said Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-Arizona.), chair of the House Natural Resources Committee.
Added Sean Gallagher, vice president of state & regulatory affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA): "SEIA is pleased to see the CEQ work to implement new rules of the road for agencies conducting NEPA reviews. The Phase I rule provides regulatory certainty for project developers who expect to build close to 3,000 megawatts of new solar energy capacity on federal lands over the next several years. These projects are critical to this administration's clean energy goals and will support 15,000 jobs and avoid nearly 7 million tons of CO2 emissions annually."
"We look forward to reviewing CEQ's proposed Phase II rule soon and urge the Council to continue to reform its NEPA rules and guidance to facilitate the rapid development of renewable energy infrastructure," he continued.
No group on either side of the issue threatened to litigate the final rule, though several environmental groups said they would not withdraw their lawsuits until they saw Phase II of the rule change modified.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the world's leading provider of market intelligence across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and all other major industrial markets. IIR's Global Market Intelligence Platform (GMI) supports our end-users across their core businesses, and helps them connect trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated project opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.
