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Permitting, pipelines and supply chains: industry urges statutory fixes to speed projects
Summary
DOE, FERC staff and industry witnesses told the House Energy Subcommittee that permitting complexity, state Clean Water Act (Section 401) reviews, NEPA overlap and supply‑chain constraints are delaying pipelines, LNG export facilities and generators. Industry called for coordinated statutory reforms and clearer judicial review standards.
Witnesses from the Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and industry trade groups described permitting and supply‑chain problems that they say are slowing critical energy projects.
Acting Undersecretary Michael Goff (Department of Energy) told the committee the department supports a range of bills that would require supply‑chain assessments and strengthen permitting coordination. Goff described several draft measures the department is prepared to work on, including a proposed "Electric Supply Chain Act," and said the department has approved or extended four LNG export projects or extensions since January that together total "more than 9,500,000,000 cubic feet per day" in authorized capacity.
Amy Andrzejak, president and CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, told the panel interstate pipeline companies must clear multiple federal and state approvals. She urged Congress to pursue a package of reforms that, together, would (a) clarify certain NEPA procedures, (b) limit misuse of Clean Water Act Section 401 to stall projects, (c) protect the Army Corps' nationwide permits, and (d) reduce litigation risk by setting clearer statutory standards and timelines for judicial review.
FERC Office of Energy Projects Director Terry Turpin described his office's role as lead agency for hydropower and interstate natural gas NEPA reviews and said the commission remains willing to work with Congress and other agencies to improve environmental reviews. He told the committee that transmission and pipeline siting are handled under different statutes and that the commission has issued large numbers of licenses and pipeline miles over the last decade, underscoring that the commission processes many projects successfully but that some reforms could reduce delays.
Committee members pressed witnesses on staffing and program continuity. Several members said recent agency personnel reductions and policy shifts have caused uncertainty for project sponsors. Goff said DOE is conducting reviews of ongoing activities and working to deliver critical missions, and Andrzejak emphasized that consistent statutory timelines and a predictable permitting framework would be necessary to attract private capital for multi‑year infrastructure projects.
No formal legislative action occurred at the hearing. Witnesses asked Congress to consider coordinated statutory changes to NEPA, Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, Corps permitting and judicial review standards as a package to reduce sequential delays and litigation risk for multi‑state energy infrastructure.
