Rep. Curtis introduces bill to speed up responsible energy projects
Washington, DC,
June 13, 2018
Today, Congressman John Curtis introduced the Streamlining Permitting Efficiencies in Energy Development (SPEED) Act. This bill would simplify the process of responsibly permitting the least controversial drilling operations on federal lands.
Congressman John Curtis said the following after introducing the SPEED Act. “This bill will help streamline a burdensome federal process, create new economic development opportunities in rural communities across the district, and keep our country on the path of energy independence.”
The SPEED Act helps spur energy development and economic impact by:
- Creating an alternative to the Application of Permit to Drill that is now referred to as a Notifications for Permit to Drill.
- Allowing operators to utilize this new process in the least controversial areas, including locations where an environmental review has already been concluded or predeveloped fields. It also allows expedited approval if an environmental review concludes the action would have no significant effects on the environment, species, historic sites, or historic resources.
- Streamlines the approval some of the least-controversial drilling operations to spur economic growth and create good paying jobs in our rural communities.
This bill was introduced with the support of 5 members of Congress, including Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (UT-01), Chairman Paul A. Gosar (AZ-04), Congressman Bruce Westerman (AK-04), Congressman Greg Gianforte (R-MT, and Congressman Louie Gohmert (TX-01).
STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT
Congressman Rob Bishop, Chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources
Increasing our country’s energy production will increase our prosperity and freedom. Moving the United States toward energy independence begins with streamlining the cumbersome permitting process for energy extraction. States are eager to tap into their vast natural resources, and outdated and overly restrictive environmental policies shouldn’t stand in the way. This bill would reduce the permitting backlog and give our states a clear path to increasing energy output.
Congressman Paul Gosar, Chairman of the Western Caucus
The United States has some of the longest average mining project permitting times of any developed nation. On balance, these delays are the result of bureaucratic crawl rather than any special environmental or safety advantage conferred by our extra-long permitting process. This situation puts our industries at a significant disadvantage with respect to any mineral-reliant domestic economic activity. It also places a sizeable burden on our public infrastructure and national security apparatuses, both of which require ready and sustained access to minerals rare and common. As a consequence, the U.S. is net-import-reliant on a significant quantity of minerals – many of which are critical to national security itself – and is often beholden to supply chains that are vulnerable to or dependent on adversarial foreign powers. Congressman Curtis recognizes these problems and has responded proactively with his legislation to speed the permitting of uncontroversial drilling operations taking place on federal lands. I look forward to working with him closely to get this important bill passed.
Congressman Bruce Westerman
Conducting business with the government has become unnecessarily cumbersome as the federal bureaucracy has continued to grow unchecked. That is why we must cut red tape and streamline our government procedures when judicious to the tax payer. The SPEED Act does that by eliminating the need for a secondary NEPA review for drilling permits on federal lands near locations where a NEPA review has already been performed and approved by the Secretary of the Interior. This bill expedites the permitting process while continuing to protect the environment, a true win-win.
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