Lawmakers urged to adopt bipartisan permitting reforms to speed projects while protecting environment

The author presents five guiding principles for bipartisan permitting reform as Congress reconvenes after its August recess. First, reforms must be sector-agnostic, avoiding favoritism toward any energy source or industry. Second, the law should ban retroactive agency actions, citing the EPA’s 2011 overturn of a permit granted to Mingo Logan Coal Company.

Third, reforms need to streamline not only NEPA but also core permitting statutes like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act to cut redundant triggers. Fourth, agencies should refrain from using regulatory power to phase out coal or natural-gas facilities, referencing the Biden EPA’s 2024 power-plant rule. Fifth, environmental reviews must focus on direct, tangible harms rather than speculative risks. The piece concludes that adopting these common-sense measures would benefit both policymakers and the public.