Fossil fuel, green energy groups team up in rare joint effort to push permitting reform

A broad coalition of fossil fuel, clean energy and labor unions penned a letter to Congress on Monday morning, urging it to take action on permitting reform to ensure energy infrastructure development.

The coalition consists of business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, fossil fuel groups like the American Petroleum Institute and Independent Petroleum Association of America, green groups including American Clean Power Association, and major labor union Laborers’ International Union of North America. The groups said current permitting laws are delaying various types of infrastructure.

"Today, the single biggest obstacle to building the infrastructure of the future is a broken permitting system," the letter stated. "Public and private sector infrastructure projects will improve our economy and the lives of millions of Americans. Investing in highways, bridges, transit systems, and ports will move people and goods more quickly and efficiently."

"Building new energy production, transmission, and distribution projects promises to improve energy reliability and reduce emissions," it continued. "And we can strengthen our national security by expanding domestic production of critical technologies and the raw materials they require." 

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"But America cannot accomplish any of this if the outdated, inefficient, and unpredictable permitting process is not improved," the groups wrote.

In the letter, the coalition noted that permitting reform has sweeping support "across the ideological spectrum" and that there is an understanding the current system is broken. The groups also acknowledged they don't agree on many issues, but that they are committed to working with Congress to pass reform.

They further stated that they were united on bolstering predictability, efficiency, transparency and stakeholder input on project permitting processes. 

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"This effort won’t be easy but must be pursued to take full advantage of the once-in-a-generation investment opportunities before us," the letter concluded. "We are confident that this Congress can pass meaningful and durable legislation. We urge you to do so before the end of the summer."

The letter, meanwhile, comes as the House is poised to consider the Lower Energy Costs Act, legislation that includes provisions to boost domestic energy production, shore up critical mineral supply chains and reform existing permitting laws.

Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., the architect of the permitting reform provision in the legislation, said last week that it would arguably benefit green energy interests more than traditional fossil fuel producers.

"Doing permitting reform is a way to significantly reduce the cost and timeframe associated with implementing projects," he told reporters.

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Under the National Environmental Policy Act, projects including oil and gas drilling are required to go through successive rounds of permitting which can take months or, sometimes, years for relevant agencies to green light. In April, the White House reversed Trump-era rules that aimed to streamline the process in a move blasted by renewable energy and fossil fuel industry proponents alike.

In 2020, the Trump administration released a report showing that the federal government on average takes 4-5 years to complete environmental reviews. The Federal Highway Administration takes seven years on average, the longest of any agency, and the Bureau of Land Management, which is tasked with approving fossil fuel drilling permits, takes more than four years on average.