[{"_1":2,"_123":-5,"_124":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99,111],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},"mediaId",6306289,"mediaKeyId","2439397-074692a0c11bba1585219af8674c5721","parentId",2439397,"title","Industry groups press Congress to limit protracted litigation after environmental approvals","audioSeconds",376,"startMs",1992000,"endMs",2368000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2439397-074692a0c11bba1585219af8674c5721&start=1992&end=2368","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2439397-074692a0c11bba1585219af8674c5721/thumbnail_1992000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6306289/Industry-groups-press-Congress-to-limit-protracted-litigation-after-environmental-approvals","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6306289-ba4eabb004af1e0263aefe1a076762df/orig.mp4?Expires=1771132385&Signature=fS8dD6NnrP87o-CHTpXfotYP1l-DDvMs5V4ZFkdHccrzHHwpPMkCX5-NIUbSb~TCaL6prJPSnKZjZxa45uKZdv8Q6tBn3fM8omfCDZMz-YwpCgS0jBVbJcR3XjdEBO4pCvUwJQc20EZMZjIDw2KlwRUS7~D~gcjmmGpLQfTm78Uq6YcJ8MpuDa7T7939FY-qLu4CDTqHNNpKVy1nQrblGM2nc52TvCOuIdDMg0LUowIV9Yw1wfnfbrGbLJrhtYh7FcHpPiRYzGnaJ8AbobMighJ-8BfunC~KhocYEn33eU0CwYvKJeNYcHCbo87J30znQAf5F1mCXDIk88tE8QDMgQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works","date","2025-02-19T00:00:00Z","article","Leah Palconis of the Associated General Contractors of America and Jeremy Harrell of ClearPath described the impact of litigation on projects that have completed environmental review and said Congress could shorten and standardize judicial-review windows for critical infrastructure.

Palconis noted existing statutory approaches that limit post-approval challenges in some sectors: \"Congress has protected some infrastructure projects with a hundred and 50 day legal limit on challenges,\" she said, and urged that a similar uniform period apply to other critical infrastructure projects. Harrell recommended narrowing the scope of judicial review to \"plain errors\" under natural resources laws, setting strict review timelines and re-assessing whether the current system ","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Improving the Federal Environmental Review and Permitting Processes","oneSentenceSummary","Industry witnesses told the Senate EPW committee that protracted litigation after final EAs or EISs can stall projects for years and urged standardized, shortened judicial-review windows and early-stage challenge requirements for critical infrastructure.","taxTitle","Environment and Public Works: Senate Committee, Standing Committees - House & Senate, Congressional Hearings Compilation, Legislative, Federal","taxId",1992,"location","","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6306292,"Labor union warns offshore wind leasing pause risks thousands of U.S. jobs",335,2875000,3210000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2439397-074692a0c11bba1585219af8674c5721&start=2875&end=3210","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2439397-074692a0c11bba1585219af8674c5721/thumbnail_2875000.jpg","/articles/6306292/Labor-union-warns-offshore-wind-leasing-pause-risks-thousands-of-US-jobs","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6306292-5f6de94d281e48a01d4f27095410d49b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771130361&Signature=aoxsVvOXITXYTjUZ3sasSqnRzGcBQBKH8cz9E8WWW8ZXYvtqhagg-qeKl7Iun1H~dpwgUMZn1GVYV6daTAWWRpTg9-Tsr73I1Z4g-wKg6dmmsMGDpV9oVkXdAOsJiwYVlIywOMFCXg5w-JHJDQK0wacy4A1ncPpA-dZjDf6J7s~iCPNN9tskLTxk6n~eT-OaqjTcoPOtImBrsAbpJnMAhZk86DqJK--9L1KSXqZlUq-MPBMmKMI8ILandWF0MlRsFbF7vgTitJkHOeziM7fG~KRIpMlRQLPH9GgqoxqxKJWQEVH8EhKWdFzHlozIRF2s~YAWod5f8sJV5b~ne-wiag__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Brent Booker, general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that the administration’s pause on offshore wind leasing has upended projects and cost union members jobs.

Booker, who described LiUNA as \"a strong, proud, diverse union representing over 530,000 workers,\" said the offshore industry had been generating new construction and port work and that the pause had led developers to withdraw construction plans. He cited a specific project by name in testimony: \"1 project is a starboard wind project, 1,184 megawatt project proposed by Oersted about 30 miles south of Martha's Vineyard,\" and said it \"was expected to power upwards of 600,000 homes.\" He said those cancellations threaten \"thousands, if not tens of thousands\" of construction and related jobs across shipyards, ports and factories.

Booker urged lawmakers not to use project approvals as political bargaining chips and said the effects fall hardest on workers who lose predictable employment. He also said the building trades support an \"all of the above\" energy strategy and that consistent permitting and project predictability are essential to sustaining union jobs.

Senators who questioned Booker asked about job estimates and the downstream impacts on consumers and ports; Booker said effects include lost employment and lost generation capacity for the grid. The committee did not vote on leasing or energy policy at the hearing; lawmakers and witnesses agreed the issue merits further attention in pending legislative work on permitting.","Brent Booker of LiUNA told the Senate EPW committee that the administration's halt on offshore lease sales has disrupted projects and put thousands of construction and supply chain jobs at risk, citing a 1,184-megawatt project proposed by Ørsted as an example.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6306297,"Clean Air Task Force and others point to agency coordination, staffing and state alignment as principal causes of transmission bottlenecks",873,3207000,4080000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2439397-074692a0c11bba1585219af8674c5721&start=3207&end=4080","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2439397-074692a0c11bba1585219af8674c5721/thumbnail_3207000.jpg","/articles/6306297/Clean-Air-Task-Force-and-others-point-to-agency-coordination-staffing-and-state-alignment-as-principal-causes-of-transmission-bottlenecks","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6306297-16324cae387bfbd3b8de747557ba3f0f/orig.mp4?Expires=1771132385&Signature=lxmJvdVh8YXPZQMgofd1ooLCsXvk1g0cZVpwls0sgov17swNLhMz0hwGdXZZxCqP5kGQ2Drk9bMs~GhomIqdwUHgRFnqPXjkOh3yOq1U2X2g-e4~f2zOArfM44TlGAWctRjCoPFP1JaOWhP4NZkWtNFqAqTiHeh2NmdAamG1pVVhgjw-99DM41Tl9fQizwKheRb5QZav61VxZnPXh645wEg-Jex3JER4mXtJvM~xB8J4KNBck4n7uCaSP9P9DAlOJm1Hh22RsUSBBi849KKgQeGgT31n9ANR2F2rxjcJintqqpHWM4no880qkc~84Rj718FQtd2lnon3Yi1lstbtOA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Nicole Pavia, program director for clean energy infrastructure deployment at the Clean Air Task Force, told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that long-range interstate transmission is underbuilt and that permitting slowdowns arise primarily from \"gaps in leadership and federal agency coordination, lack of steady appropriations for permitting related tasks, insufficient permitting expertise at agencies, data inaccessibility, and local opposition or lack of state support.\" She said these process and resource constraints, more than NEPA itself, explain much of the delay for transmission.

Pavia cited an industry-scale backlog: \"2,600 gigawatts or 2.6 terawatts of energy capacity, 95% of which is zero-emitting or storage capacity, sits in interconnection queues today, waiting for an opportunity to plug into the grid.\" She and other witnesses urged stronger interregional planning, harmonization of state and tribal requirements, and consideration of consolidating siting and permitting authority for interstate transmission projects under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, similar to FERC’s authority over interstate natural gas pipelines under the Natural Gas Act section 7.

Jeremy Harrell of ClearPath said the United States needs both upgrades to existing lines and substantial new transmission, estimating an approximate 75/25 split favoring new buildout for the coming decades. He and other witnesses recommended improving agency data transparency, deploying modern technologies to speed reviews, and targeting procedural reforms that limit duplicative reviews. Harrell also cited litigation statistics to make the case for judicial-review limits: an analysis he referenced found that litigation delayed energy projects by an average of four years and that agencies prevailed in roughly 71% of such challenges; for transmission projects that completed review, 24% faced litigation and agencies won 88% of those cases.

Senators pressed witnesses on concrete fixes: Senator Kelly asked whether increased interregional planning and longer-term regional transmission planning (FERC Order 2023/1920 initiatives referenced in testimony) would reduce misalignment. Witnesses said it would help but emphasized that states retain much of the siting authority and so any federal backstop must coordinate with state and tribal processes. No legislative text was passed during the hearing; witnesses recommended a mix of statutory clarifications, resourcing and administrative reforms to increase throughput of transmission projects.","Nicole Pavia of the Clean Air Task Force told the Senate EPW committee that NEPA is improvable but not the primary cause of transmission delays; agency coordination, insufficient staffing and state jurisdictional differences were cited as key drivers keeping 2.6 terawatts of potential clean capacity in interconnection queues.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6306301,"Home builders and contractors urge clearer Clean Water Act jurisdiction, faster jurisdictional determinations",426,2446000,2872000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2439397-074692a0c11bba1585219af8674c5721&start=2446&end=2872","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2439397-074692a0c11bba1585219af8674c5721/thumbnail_2446000.jpg","/articles/6306301/Home-builders-and-contractors-urge-clearer-Clean-Water-Act-jurisdiction-faster-jurisdictional-determinations","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6306301-e37d36817140130ec2a15508eff664da/orig.mp4?Expires=1771132385&Signature=eVZm-~jRG~4NcjFqUdAu47LujWFhPiqVDTOktJ3~YaPkTOtgjIuuX4t0kmAB5TBPzm7xfOpHGL1G6PEB4~eAD3bPkpa3d497kGYdBz521mJrAf5IwdJJhbtwZMTDA1-yPTiOQ0dwmtICaRA29B1PXyDGHlsFPPnGPQzQ1jikX5tFaGF4QfPg3QmvOTdeVdsqlsEiSvl9i7Q7NruLTdk-rAq7IITA85s-6fr6den4Jz9taS-UuxiX2tuZwMy-L5l8CDByzJU1IB3SyoUFuy8P1WQ4nrynKLz9GK9xH2xCWSp2a1qkeVpfa7unzHqZON2x8mjRT2ZkCwdYTaPk7o3Opw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Carl Harris, chairman of the board of the National Association of Home Builders, and Leah Palconis, general counsel for the Associated General Contractors of America, told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that inconsistent interpretations of what counts as \"waters of the United States\" and long waits for approved jurisdictional determinations create substantial project uncertainty and costs.

Harris said the United States faces \"a shortfall of over 1,500,000 housing units,\" and described how delays on jurisdictional determinations and mitigation bank shortages can add materially to home prices. \"For example,\" he said, \"a member in Ohio told us that the credits for his project cost about $140,000 due to the 2 to 1 mitigation requirement. When you break it down per home lot, this adds $10,000 to the cost of a new home.\" He urged prioritizing approved jurisdictional determinations (AJDs), recentering the nationwide permit so it meets the 60-day intent in statute, and encouraging creation of mitigation banks.

Palconis told senators that NEPA lawsuits can stall projects for years and that litigation increasingly is used to obstruct projects. She said Congress has already provided statutory tools such as MAP-21’s 150-day limit on legal challenges for some infrastructure projects and recommended applying consistent judicial-review timelines to critical infrastructure. Palconis also called for protecting general permits, codifying exemptions for roadside ditches and stormwater, expediting jurisdictional determinations, and ensuring mitigation requirements align with available mitigation credits.

Committee members discussed the Supreme Court's Sackett decision and its aftermath; witnesses said agency rules implementing the Court's guidance have not yet produced consistent on-the-ground clarity among Corps districts. Several senators urged statutory clarifications so landowners and developers can determine risk without relying on differing field-office interpretations.

No votes or new statutory language were advanced during the hearing; witnesses urged Congress to act to provide uniform definitions, consistent application across Corps districts, and timelier AJDs so project sponsors can proceed with greater certainty.","Witnesses from the Associated General Contractors and the National Association of Home Builders told the Senate EPW committee that uncertainty over Clean Water Act jurisdiction, slow approved jurisdictional determinations and scarce mitigation credits add time and costs to housing and construction projects.",{"_33":112,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":113,"_41":114,"_43":115,"_45":116,"_47":117,"_49":118,"_51":119,"_53":120,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":121,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":122,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":72,"_74":72},6306306,"Senate EPW opens bipartisan hearing on modernizing environmental review and permitting",3666,1023000,4689000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2439397-074692a0c11bba1585219af8674c5721&start=1023&end=4689","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2439397-074692a0c11bba1585219af8674c5721/thumbnail_1023000.jpg","/articles/6306306/Senate-EPW-opens-bipartisan-hearing-on-modernizing-environmental-review-and-permitting","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6306306-e13d0bd33a6b18a08272c9acd5fd7996/orig.mp4?Expires=1771132385&Signature=X1OJhgGVFIhPQLKKqDurJK5kLHWOl36~i2zgzeDx2YkJ7dydemlI7WeNZHtwRo0yeFJyaL7PPAhovihc7rVefj9VL-2jhyGhUbcd9mhkApbk9BydnnFshf0pXNigj~q19zPlR-~bsP~6DpUw~mGPBuJfqWXZ7k9xtNy2UZHzT82rYjL4k1F9ZbXczC3KAuc5jNerdYzXICJEHvXfSQuIOa82rdVaL16LHutQTXfrhDKZicJmsBYAiUH38ImLAkwI8MRT49Xyx7M-XJI5RoVU4la~qqel3TVl~UvjNLt94n-EDb7ZmU3Dc4DGcMwOsFTH17BDWimlHThHkzRPs5hjgA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senator Shelley Moore Capito, chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, opened a hearing on federal environmental review and permitting, saying Congress has an opportunity this term to \"deliver meaningful bipartisan legislation\" to reduce duplicative review and regulatory uncertainty while protecting public health and the environment. The committee kept the record open until March 21 to allow stakeholders to submit written views and data.

Why it matters: Permitting and environmental reviews are central to siting energy, infrastructure and housing projects. Witnesses told the committee that long, unpredictable reviews, shifting agency guidance and litigation have delayed or raised costs for projects from transmission lines to housing developments. Committee members said reform must balance speed, transparency and environmental protections.

Witnesses summarized industry, labor and nonprofit perspectives. Jeremy Harrell, chief executive officer of ClearPath, said the regulatory system is a major barrier to meeting energy and economic goals and urged reforms that increase transparency, use modern technology and narrow the scope and timing of judicial review. Leah Palconis, general counsel for the Associated General Contractors of America, recommended uniform judicial review periods, better alignment between NEPA implementation and congressional intent, and protection of general permits under the Clean Water Act. Carl Harris, chairman of the board of the National Association of Home Builders, described delays in jurisdictional determinations and mitigation credit shortages that can add ‘‘$10,000 to the cost of a new home’’ in some cases. Brent Booker, general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, highlighted job losses when projects stall, and Nicole Pavia, program director at the Clean Air Task Force, said process, coordination and staffing — not NEPA itself — are frequently cited as the leading causes of transmission delays.

Committee members pressed witnesses on several recurring themes: how to set and enforce timelines, the roles of states versus federal agencies, whether to consolidate siting authority for interstate transmission, and how to limit litigation that can halt projects after approvals. Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse told the panel Democrats would not accept legislation until, in his words, the administration ‘‘honors its oath to faithfully and impartially execute the laws.’'

Capito closed by asking senators to submit written questions by March 5 and witnesses to return responses by March 19; the committee said materials for the public hearing record may be emailed to permittingepw@senate.gov.

The hearing brought bipartisan attention to detailed reforms — from staffing and data transparency to statutory clarifications — but produced no formal votes or legislative text during the session.","Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Capito and Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse convened witnesses from industry, labor and advocacy groups to discuss reforms to NEPA and federal permitting, keeping the hearing record open until March 21 for stakeholder submissions.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Industry groups press Congress to limit protracted litigation after environmental approvals

Labor union warns offshore wind leasing pause risks thousands of U.S. jobs

Clean Air Task Force and others point to agency coordination, staffing and state alignment as principal causes of transmission bottlenecks

Home builders and contractors urge clearer Clean Water Act jurisdiction, faster jurisdictional determinations

Senate EPW opens bipartisan hearing on modernizing environmental review and permitting