House Natural Resources chair introduces permitting overhaul

• The bill with Rep. Jared Golden — one of the House's most conservative Democrats — represents a GOP attempt to build consensus for environmental reviews that remain unpopular with many Democrats.
• Democrats widely panned Westerman's draft bill when it was brought up for a hearing last September.

What's inside: The bill is largely aligned with what Westerman pursued last year.

• It would establish a 150-day deadline for filing National Environmental Policy Act legal claims — slightly longer than last year's 120-day deadline — as well as new standard of review and the elimination of procedural moves that stop projects from moving forward.
• The bill would also clarify, as Westerman proposed last year, that receiving federal funding wouldn't solely be enough to trigger a NEPA review.
• And it would simplify the analysis required in NEPA documents, aiming to ease the burden on agencies.

The big picture: Westerman and some Democrats have argued that NEPA, which guides federal environmental reviews, has unreasonably delayed infrastructure projects and opened the door to frivolous lawsuits.

• "NEPA has mutated into a significant roadblock carrying out the infrastructure and energy projects essential to America's energy and national security needs," Westerman said during an oversight hearing earlier this week.
• The bill would require courts to invalidate a final agency action only if the court finds the agency abused its "substantial discretion" complying with NEPA, and if the agency would have reached a different result on without that abuse.

Golden, in a joint news release with Westerman, said the bill would initiate changes that protect our environment while "delivering the investments Americans need today, not years from now."

Yes, but: Democrats largely oppose changing NEPA and are still fuming over the GOP reconciliation law that slashed tax credits for wind and solar.

• But Rep. Scott Peters — an Energy and Commerce member who has worked with Westerman on a permitting deal — is seeking to persuade enough of his fellow Democrats to support a permitting measure.
• The Senate also has shown little sign of consensus as the parties kick off permitting talks amid rising demand for electricity.
• Ashley Nunes, a public lands policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity, said of Westerman's bill: "It doesn't go so far as to kill NEPA, but would certainly put it in a vegetative state."

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comments from the Center for Biological Diversity.