America’s energy permitting crisis has a number: 29 years. That’s how long it takes, on average, to bring a mine online in the United States, longer than any country except Zambia, according to S & P Global.
The problem isn’t restricted to mines. Antiquated, complicated permitting rules add extra cost and risk to every type of energy project.
One geothermal project at a single location on public lands can trigger National Environmental Policy Act analysis six separate times. Interstate transmission lines can take more than 10 years to permit. It’s become routine for presidents of both parties to cancel or slow-walk permitting for projects they don’t like. Legal challenges to federal permits can be filed for six years after permits are approved, adding cost, complexity and uncertainty.
America’s broken permitting system isn’t just frustrating anymore. It’s unaffordable. A recent McKinsey analysis found that federal permitting delays drive up construction costs on infrastructure projects by 24% to 30%, and that projects stuck in the permitting pipeline represent more than $100 billion a year in unrealized returns.
Those are our dollars.
The projects needed to deliver affordable, reliable energy and create economic opportunity are stuck in a maze of outdated rules, political favoritism and endless litigation.
Congress knows that. Reforming our federal permitting system for the modern age is a rare source of bipartisan collaboration driven by the broadest cross-sector alliance we’ve seen on any policy issue in recent years.
Consider who is calling for action: Energy companies from oil and gas to solar and wind. Building trade unions and manufacturers. Rural electric cooperatives. The National Association of Counties and the National Governors Association. The Nature Conservancy and Citizens’ Climate Lobby. When a group that diverse agrees on anything, it’s worth paying attention.
They aren’t agreeing because they share the same politics or the same vision for America’s energy future. They’re agreeing on the need to fix a broken federal permitting process built in a different era, layered with duplicative reviews, and increasingly susceptible to political interference from whichever party happens to hold the White House.
Congress has been hashing out solutions to those issues in a remarkably productive, bipartisan way given the general level of dysfunction in Washington. Colorado’s congressional delegation deserves credit for helping move reform forward.
Rep. Jeff Hurd championed geothermal permitting reforms. Rep. Gabe Evans led efforts to ensure that agency actions are fair, move efficiently and include local government input. Hurd and Evans co-sponsored legislation to digitize federal reviews, improving transparency. Sen. John Hickenlooper is working to build bipartisan consensus around transmission reform and grid modernization.
In a bitterly partisan time, permitting reform remains one place where our lawmakers are still trying to solve a real problem together. It’s time now to finish the job.
The goal: technology-neutral reform with efficient reviews and robust local engagement. Rules that protect our environment and preserve the right of impacted citizens to challenge decisions within a reasonable time frame. Clear processes and timelines that apply equally whether you’re building a wind farm or a copper mine, an interstate power line or an interstate pipeline. In other words, a permitting system that serves both the public interest and the national interest.
Permitting reform won’t solve every energy challenge facing America. But without it, none of our energy ambitions can be achieved at the speed and scale the future demands, or at a price Americans can afford.
The energy projects America needs deserve a timely answer – yes or no – not decades of uncertainty. Congress has a rare chance to fix a system that’s failing renewables and traditional energy, utilities and ratepayers alike. That chance won’t stay open long. Join us in telling Congress: This is the year to get it done. Find your member of Congress at congress.gov/members/find-your-member.
Wendell A. Koontz is a Delta County commissioner and Kathy Fackler is a Durango-based clean-energy advocate. They serve together on Club 20s Energy Advisory Team.