Will permitting reform become law in 2026?
·PoliticsIf a permitting reform bill becomes law before Jan 1, 2027, then the market resolves to Yes.
The bill must do any of the following: (1) reduce the deadline for filing lawsuits against an agency action approving or denying the permitting of an energy or mineral project; (2) direct courts to set a time limit for an agency to act on a remand; (3) require courts to prioritize cases reviewing an agency permitting decision for an energy or mineral project; (4) require the Secretary of the Interior to begin reviewing lease applications for energy projects on federal land within a deadline; (5) require the Secretary of the Interior to increase the frequency of offshore oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico; (6) increase DOI's goal for permitting renewable energy projects on federal land; (7) set application timelines for renewable projects requiring a right-of-way on federal land; (8) increase the frequency of geothermal lease sales; (9) require the Secretary of the Interior to increase the frequency of offshore wind lease sale; (10) modify the requirements for a "mill site" so that mining projects can use them for ancillary activities on federal mineral and nonmineral lands; (11) require the Secretary of Energy to make a Yes or No decision on whether liquefied natural gas export applications are in the public interest within a deadline; (12) eliminate the requirement for DOE to designate National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors based on needs studies as part of the process for using the federal backstop; (13) require geothermal drill permits on federal land to be approved, denied, or deferred within some deadline; (14) clarify that a federal permit to drill for oil and gas wells is not required on nonfederal lands in circumstances in which the federal government owns less than 50% of the subsurface minerals or if the well is drilled on nonfederal land and then horizontally through federal land; (15) allow FERC to approve requests from licensees to extend the time period during which construction must commence for certain hydroelectric projects; (16) direct DOI and USDA to adopt categorical exclusions under NEPA for the exploration of geothermal resources on federal lands; (17) require the secretary of the interior to establish a streamlined permitting process for the simultaneous consideration of several phases of geothermal projects, including surface exploration, geophysical exploration, drilling, and the construction of power plants; (18) make FERC the lead agency for conducting environmental reviews of transmission projects that are subject to NEPA rather than DOE; (19) direct DOI and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to create new categorical exclusions for activities related to transmission.
