Senate negotiators announced a bipartisan deal on a permitting package to speed up approvals for new energy projects. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee, said the agreement's details would be released before week's end. An aide for Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) confirmed the deal on legislative text.
A vote this week is unlikely. The Senate recesses after this week and does not return until after the midterm elections, pushing any floor action into a lame-duck session.
Democratic negotiators Heinrich and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) were still finalizing the agreement. Whitehouse said negotiators are "over the hump on the deal-break issues" and that text "should be finalized within a matter of days, maybe even hours."
A critical remaining hurdle centers on the Trump administration's policies for wind and solar projects. Whitehouse confirmed negotiators need "more clarity from the Trump administration on what their return to regular order means" regarding wind and solar approvals. President Donald Trump recently offered to ease his administration's blockade on renewable energy projects to secure Democratic agreement on the permitting deal.
Republicans outlined priorities within the bill, sharing a version with stakeholders on Friday. The legislation would stop the executive branch from revoking permits except under narrowly defined exceptions and would ease the siting process for interstate transmission lines by removing the Department of Energy's role as a national transmission planner.
The bill imposes a cost allocation model for transmission lines, requiring customers to pay only if they directly benefit from a given line based on reliability factors. It includes a 150-day statute of limitations on lawsuits filed under the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act to accelerate project timelines.
The bill also narrows when states can block projects under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, which allows states to certify or deny federal permits affecting water quality.
