On September 29, APGA submitted a letter to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), along with multiple peer trade organizations, in response to the proposed rule, “National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations Phase 2”.
It is especially important to engage because APGA members would face increased timelines for the construction of energy infrastructure (e.g. natural gas pipelines) if finalized as proposed. This could further impact access to America’s natural gas production, potentially increasing commodity costs.
The commenters provided support for the goals of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to inform federal decision-making and understanding of the potential environmental impacts of federal actions, such as issuing permits for infrastructure. A fair and efficient federal permitting system is essential for timely investment to meet a wide array of our country’s critical needs. However, this proposal from CEQ does not support this mission and should be withdrawn. Hopefully, if they issue another proposal, CEQ will modify it in accordance with these central flaws identified:
- The Proposed Rule is written to drive policy outcomes of the Biden Administration. In so doing, the Proposed Rule exceeds the bounds of the letter and intent of NEPA.
- The Proposed Rule fails to fulfill the specific requirements and overall purpose of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA). The FRA amended NEPA to address permitting delays.
- The Proposed Rule would only exacerbate delays and complexity driven by new requirements that would inevitably be followed by litigation.
For more on the letter submitted by APGA and others, click here.
APGA will continue to work on this issue and inform members of any progress. For questions on this article, please contact Sydney Freed of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-0834 or by email at sfreed@apga.org.