EEI’s Drew Maloney: Permitting Reform to ‘Unleash America’s Electric Companies’
EEI President and CEO Drew Maloney is calling for reform to siting and permitting processes that “can stop projects in their tracks or add years to deployment timelines.”
EEI President and CEO Drew Maloney on Tuesday wrote to Congressional leaders urging them to advance siting and permitting legislation that would “help end needless litigation, ensure reliability at the lowest cost, and fuel economic growth.”
“Electric companies are focused on building new generation and transmission projects quickly and without unnecessary delays and costs,” said Maloney. “Current siting and permitting processes—and the protracted litigation they often entail—can stop projects in their tracks or add years to deployment timelines, saddling customers with needless costs and slowing economic growth.”
Speaking on behalf of America’s investor-owned electric companies, which serve more than 250 million Americans, support more than 7 million jobs across the country, and plan to invest more than $1.1 trillion during the next five years to power economic prosperity, Maloney called on Congress to:
- Streamline the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to ensure speed and certainty for NEPA reviews and set reasonable bounds for legal challenges. Passing the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act introduced by U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Rep. Jared Goldman (D-ME) is a necessary first step.
- Strengthen and extend nationwide permitting under Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404/Rivers and Harbors Act Section 10. Codify and expand this already working permit program.
- Speed up and focus state water quality certifications under CWA Section 401. Center these certifications on direct discharges and establish appropriate timelines for state action.
- Right-size the scope of the National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 to both ensure historic preservation and the ability to grow and deploy new infrastructure.
Permitting reform is slated to be a key topic on Capitol Hill in the months ahead, with a U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Environment Subcommittee hearing on permitting reform under the Clean Air Act scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
Reform would “unleash America’s electric companies,” Maloney wrote, voicing support for “bipartisan, common-sense reforms to achieve energy dominance, win the AI race, and allow electric companies to meet increasing energy demand reliably and affordably.”
Scroll down to read Maloney’s full letter to lawmakers.