Reps. Casten, Levin unveil permitting proposal
Reps. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) and Mike Levin (D-Calif.) today will unveil a discussion draft of legislation aimed at accelerating the permitting process for clean energy and transmission lines while ensuring community input, according to a copy of the proposal shared first with The Climate 202.
The lawmakers, who co-chair the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition’s task force on clean-energy deployment, say they’re hoping to juice permitting negotiations after Democratic leaders tried unsuccessfully to pass a permitting bill from Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) last year.
“We were very frustrated that the only vehicle that was being discussed for permitting reform was the Senate Manchin package, which frankly has got a lot of completely unnecessary oil and gas provisions,” Casten told The Climate 202. “There has never been a proper package with the right policies.”
The Clean Electricity and Transmission Acceleration Act differs significantly from Manchin’s measure as well as the permitting provisions in House Republicans’ energy package, which passed the chamber last month and primarily focused on boosting fossil fuel projects.
The legislation would accomplish the following goals, according to a section-by-section summary from Casten’s office:
- Give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission siting authority for national interest transmission lines, or those that cross at least two states and have a capacity greater than 1,000 megawatts.
- Establish an Office of Electricity Transmission at the commission.
- Authorize $2.1 billion to address the shortage of electricity transformers through the Defense Production Act.
- Require federal agencies to hold multiple hearings in environmental justice communities on proposals that affect them.
Casten expressed confidence that these proposals could garner broad support within the Democratic conference, although he acknowledged that most Republicans would probably reject them in favor of the GOP energy package.
“We’ll see what happens on the politics,” he said. “But you’ve got to define what your policy goals are.”
By: Maxine Joselow
Source: Washington Post