BIDEN ROLLBACK OF TRUMP-ERA PERMITTING REFORMS WILL HARM HIS OWN CLEAN ENERGY AGENDA
Washington Examiner
Alex Fitzsimmons
April 25, 2022
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/faith-freedom-self-reliance/biden-rollback-of-trump-era-permitting-reforms-will-harm-his-own-clean-energy-agenda
President Joe Biden has reversed Trump-era reforms to modernize the federal permitting process. But the decision could undermine the administration’s own clean energy goals by making it more difficult to permit clean energy infrastructure at a time when we should be building more clean energy faster.
In 2020, the Trump administration modernized federal permitting under the National Environmental Policy Act, the first major update in 40 years. Enacted in 1970, NEPA requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impact of major projects.
Unfortunately, good policy in the 1970s has not kept pace with the times. The NEPA process today often means federal permitting can take five to 10 years and cost millions of dollars. This undermines our ability to build more clean energy rapidly to reduce emissions, grow the economy, and reduce dependence on foreign energy.
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