Permitting Reform Included In Debt Deal, But More Will Be Needed
from CCL Weekly Briefing
Lawmakers have reached a deal to raise the debt limit, and it includes some reforms to America’s energy permitting processes. That deal is now working its way through Congress in an attempt to beat the June 5 deadline when the government is expected to run out of money to pay its bills.
In a post on CCL Community, CCL Research Coordinator Dana Nuccitelli gives insight into exactly what permitting reform is in this deal, including the approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
Our main takeaway, which we shared in a public statement today, is that these permitting measures are not enough. We still need to speed up approval of additional power lines to transmit clean energy — these are critical if we’re going to meet our climate targets. We also need to make sure communities can make their voices heard on the environmental and other impacts of proposed energy projects.
This means CCLers can make a big impact on Capitol Hill on June 13. Nearly 1,000 of our volunteers will attend lobby meetings to continue pushing for the clean energy permitting reforms we need.