Chairman Bruce Westerman
A group of eight oil and natural gas trade associations are calling on lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives to “take swift action on permitting reform.” In a letter to Chairman Bruce Westerman ahead of an oversight hearing tomorrow in the House Natural Resources Committee, the coalition underscored the need to streamline the process to approving federal permitting for energy production, expressed their priority principles, and pointed to recent legislative proposals as vehicles for a bipartisan path forward.
The coalition, comprised of Energy Workforce & Technology Council, Gulf Energy Alliance, International Association of Drilling Contractors, Independent Petroleum Association of America, National Ocean Industries Association, Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, U.S. Oil & Gas Association, and Western Energy Alliance, warns that delays in reform threaten America’s economic growth.
The following are statements from members of the coalition:
Dan Naatz, COO and EVP of the Independent Petroleum Association of America: “The Biden Administration used the federal permitting process as a tool to hamper production and took every action to create greater hardship for America’s oil and natural gas producers. IPAA encourages legislators to act quickly to reform our current outdated permitting system and set the course straight to unleash America’s full energy potential. Reform is critical to bolster America’s energy security and build energy infrastructure to support our nation’s projected energy demands in the coming years.”
Melissa Simpson, president of Western Energy Alliance: “Across the political aisle everybody knows the federal energy permitting process is broken, particularly on federal lands in the West. Oil and natural gas require multiple federal approvals for everything from exploration and leasing to drilling, transportation, and export. Incremental progress has been made over the past few years, and the path to reform has been established. It’s now up to Congress to act. We hope lawmakers will move quickly to remove impediments, create interagency collaboration for simultaneous reviews, and improve the delivery of energy to all Americans.”
Tim Tarpley, president of Energy Workforce & Technology Council: “The current permitting system is a chokepoint for domestic energy development. Our members are ready to build, drill, and deliver, but red tape and frivolous lawsuits holds back investment, innovation, and jobs. Congress must cut through the bureaucracy and enact reforms to ensure the U.S. remains the global leader in energy production.”
Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association: “Permitting reform must be at the top of the national energy agenda. Offshore companies work within one of the most complex and highly regulated environments in the world. If we want to unlock the full potential of American energy, support good-paying jobs, and strengthen our national security, we need a permitting system that matches the scale, urgency, and innovation of today’s offshore energy industry.”
Karr Ingham, Economist, president, Texas Alliance of Energy Producers: “While we don’t have much in the way of production on federal lands and waters in Texas, access to markets for Texas and U.S.-produced crude oil and natural gas is critical and has long been hampered by abuses in the permitting process. Additional pipeline and export capacity, including new LNG export facilities, is required to support the extraordinary growth in production accomplished by the U.S. domestic oil and gas industry. Moving products to domestic and global markets more quickly meets growing energy needs at home and abroad, meets those needs in much cleaner fashion compared to non-U.S. production, and reduces the need to flare natural gas.”
Tim Stewart, president of the U.S. Oil & Gas Association: “We need to get back to building things in this country. Thankfully, the Supreme Court has clarified that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a procedural statute designed to assist agencies in deciding rather paralyzing them. It’s time to end decades of permitting delays, driven by misuse of NEPA to obstruct not just a final decision but the ‘next step’ of every step of the regulatory process. Chairman Westerman is providing a badly needed a course correction to align permitting with NEPA’s statutory intent with common sense so we can start building big things like we used to.”
The full letter to Chairman Westerman detailing the coalition’s call for action is available here.
