Illustration: Tiffany Herring/Axios
A massive lithium discovery in Rep. Bruce Westerman's district raises permitting questions that he says his proposed NEPA overhaul addresses.
Why it matters: The Arkansas deposit is a significant development for the mineral, which is in high demand from battery makers in the EV supply chain.
- Lithium development there would occur on private land. But under Westerman's proposal a project that receives federal grants, loans or tax incentives wouldn't trigger a review under NEPA, as is now the case.
Driving the news: The U.S. Geological Survey announced this month it found up to 19 million tons of lithium reserves in southwestern Arkansas — enough to meet projected global demand for car batteries nine times over.
- Some reports say it could make Arkansas "the Saudi Arabia of lithium."
- The deposit is spurring a boom in direct lithium extraction, a bucket of technologies that would pull lithium from wastewater produced by oil and gas drilling.
- Current methods rely on open-pit mining or the months-long process of evaporating water in gigantic ponds.
- Exxon plans to produce lithium by 2027, and Albemarle, Tetra Technologies and Standard Lithium are all exploring the region.
But Westerman told Axios: "I'd caution all the people looking at doing the lithium facilities to make sure they understand what they're getting into if they take government funding to do it."
- His proposal aims to ease the path for projects funded under the IRA, IIJA and CHIPS Act by declaring that receiving federal money is not a "major federal action" that requires intensive review.
Zoom in: The extraction method currently costs more but could be environmentally beneficial because it's targeting an oil and gas drilling waste stream, said Greeshma Gadikota, director of the Sustainable Energy and Resource Recovery Group at Cornell University.
- "That's a lot better than actually having to mine a resource," Gadikota said. "For me, that's a big, big plus from an environmental standpoint."
- But pumping enough water to extract the low concentrations of lithium is energy intensive and require low-carbon power sources to be sustainable, she said.
Between the lines: Westerman, who chairs the Natural Resources Committee, pitched his draft NEPA proposal as a way to build out the power grid and as a House answer to the Senate's bipartisan Manchin-Barrasso bill.
- He has yet to get support from Democrats, many of whom oppose changing NEPA. A hearing on his discussion draft in September descended into shouting and finger-pointing.
Context: Westerman and Arkansas Sen. John Boozman have joined other Republicans in criticizing Democratic support for electric vehicles via the 30D tax credit and EPA tailpipe emissions rule issued this year.
- "I can criticize EV policy — and I will continue to do that — without criticizing EVs," Westerman said. "Trying to force Americans to drive EVs, it's bad policy. It's actually bad for the development of EVs, because it's not requiring the technology to stand on its own."
- Boozman said lithium extraction represents a huge opportunity for his state but "I think the marketplace will take care of itself regarding the choice of which type of vehicle that you should drive."
What we're watching: To get anywhere with permitting reform, Westerman will need at least some support from Dems. But he's optimistic he can square his NEPA bill with Manchin-Barrasso.
- In the lame duck session, "We're in [a] good position to try to come up with a package that could pass muster in the House and the Senate," Westerman said.
