White House, GOP reach compromise on energy disputes as part of debt-limit deal

Erik Wasson, Jennifer Jacobs and Ari Natter, Bloomberg May 29, 2023

(Bloomberg) --President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy compromised on bitterly contested disputes over federal spending as part of their debt-limit deal. They must now sell the agreement to lawmakers from both parties.

Here’s a look at the most contentious and economically consequential provisions of the legislation they unveiled on Sunday, just days before the Treasury is projected to run out of cash on June 5.

The agreement struck by the White House and GOP negotiators makes minor tweaks to the National Environmental Policy Act, the 53-year-old law requiring federal reviews of energy projects.

Republicans scored a win by imposing a one-year limit on environmental assessments and two years on environmental impact statements. However, extensions of those deadlines, “in consultation with the applicant,” are allowed, according to text of the legislation. Project sponsors can seek a review from courts if an agency fails to meet a deadline, according to the bill.

The debt deal specifically accelerates completion of a multi-billion-dollar natural gas pipeline that cuts through West Virginia but has been repeatedly stalled by environmental concerns. Democratic West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin has sought for more than a year to secure a side deal for construction of the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline.

The language in the debt bill would force agencies to take all necessary actions to permit the construction of the pipeline and would give the DC Circuit jurisdiction over future litigation involving the project. For years, its approvals have been challenged in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would be required to issue a permit for the project within 21 days of the debt agreement’s enactment.

Mountain Valley Pipeline’s developers, a group led by Pittsburgh-based Equitrans Midstream Partners LP, have said the pipeline is 94% completed, but that it still needs permits to build across streams and protected habitats.