Permitting deal draws lobbying blitz as hurdles mount
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The fragile Senate permitting deal is a major priority across the energy industry, per newly filed lobbying disclosures.
Why it matters: The filings reveal behind-the-scenes efforts by powerful interests and companies representing oil and gas, mining, renewables, environmentalists and plenty in between to shape the legislation.
The big picture: The bill title (Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act), its acronym (BAAJA) and its bill number appear throughout third-quarter lobbying disclosures.
- The bill was introduced Sept. 30, the last day of the third quarter. The disclosures, due Oct. 20, offer a window into efforts to influence the legislation during its drafting and negotiations.
- The lobbying extends beyond groups that specifically named the bill in their filings. Many others with a stake in the bill — like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers — list permitting legislation in other ways.
Driving the news: Here's just a small subset of the parties in the arena.
- Industry groups like the American Petroleum Institute, the Edison Electric Institute, the American Forest & Paper Association, the National Mining Association, and the Data Center Coalition.
- Green groups including Earthjustice, the Nature Conservancy, and Defenders of Wildlife.
- Low-carbon power trade groups such as the Solar Energy Industries Association.
State of play: The lobbying goes far beyond trade associations, with many individual companies also involved.
- They range from Chevron and BP to power giants like Duke Energy and Southern Company to geothermal startup Fervo.
- Industrial and equipment heavyweights like Caterpillar, Schneider Electric and Cummins are there, too.
Zoom in: The disclosures also offer clues about which provisions attracted lobbying attention. For example:
- The National Mining Association identified BAAJA provisions that would change Clean Water Act permitting, including state water quality reviews and limits on lawsuits challenging permits.
- The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America listed BAAJA provisions affecting interstate natural gas pipelines among its lobbying topics, alongside other pipeline permitting proposals.
Threat level: The latest filings land amid new friction over the bill.
- This week the Interior Department asked a federal judge to allow it to reconsider the Biden-era prior approval of Avangrid's planned New England Wind project off Massachusetts.
- "This is how you blow up a permitting deal," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) told Axios and other outlets about the latest in a string of Trump team moves against previously approved projects.
Yes, but: An administration official cast the federal filing as a procedural move in the case brought by other opponents of the project.
- "Our filings defend the current government's litigating position," the official said.
- "We have been very transparent about the need for permitting reform and have also been transparent with Senator Whitehouse's and Senator [Martin] Heinrich's teams on all these legal filings," the official said, citing the two Democratic co-authors.
🆕 The latest: Democratic attorneys general from nine states express "substantial concerns" with the bill in a new letter to lawmakers, Punchbowl News reported this morning.
What we're watching: The public advocacy and closed-door maneuvering should reach a fever pitch ahead of the first procedural vote on Nov. 9, and in the days and weeks that follow.
- The next wave of disclosures, covering October-December, should provide an even clearer look at the interests at play.
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