Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
Three recent developments on permitting are worth your attention.
1. Westerman's bid: The House Natural Resources chair unveiled a draft proposal late last week to overhaul NEPA. The committee has a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
- It would limit the scope of environmental reviews to a given agency's jurisdiction and narrow the definition of a "major federal action" requiring intensive NEPA scrutiny.
- Rep. Scott Peters isn't on this draft. But Westerman spokesperson Rebekah Hoshiko said it's part of "the same ongoing efforts" he's been working on with the California Democrat.
2. Ridiculously good-looking models: Third Way is out with an analysis showing the Manchin-Barrasso permitting bill would reduce emissions by between 0.8 and 16.6 gigatons of CO2 equivalent by 2050.
- These numbers will likely be used by Hill climate hawks to rally other Democrats to support the legislation.
- It's just a rough boundary of the possible impacts, but it's worth noting that a bill like this is quite difficult to model accurately.
- "There's a lot of uncertainty about how things will play out," said Brian Prest, who did RFF's analysis of onshore leasing policy.
3. Meanwhile, in court: Lawmakers are starting to weigh in on Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado — a Supreme Court case that could put fresh restrictions on NEPA.
- Sen. John Barrasso led a GOP amicus brief in the case last week arguing for a narrower scope for NEPA reviews. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce made a similar filing with other industry groups.
- Plus, at its hearing Wednesday, Natural Resources will consider a GOP resolution to toss out the Biden administration's NEPA implementing rules, which Trump, if elected, would be certain to overturn.
