Underground Infrastructure - April 2023 - 28

INSIDEINFRASTRUCTURE
Eben Wyman | Wyman Associates
House Republicans Move Early
on Major Energy Package
EDITOR'S NOTE
Eben Wyman is a veteran advocate
for key underground utility and pipeline
associations. He can be contacted at
eben@wymanassociates.net.
* Prohibit President Biden from banning hydraulic
fracturing and leave fracking policy largely to the states.
* Prevent states from blocking interstate infrastructure
projects.
* End the abuse of the water quality certification process
by streamlining the permitting process under Section 401
of the Clean Water Act and limiting review to only
impacts on water quality.
* Reform the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
permitting process to streamline federal reviews for all
sectors of the economy, including at international borders.
* Sets deadlines for completion of NEPA reviews at
one year for environmental assessments and two years
for environmental impact statements.
When taking control of the House of Representatives in January,
GOP leaders made it clear that a top priority in the 118th
Congress would be to roll back some of the harmful climate
change policy that was included in recent legislation backed
by the Biden White House, and to reinstate commonsense
policy that would " unleash American energy " and lower energy
costs for American families.
In mid-March, House Republicans announced that a major
energy package that has been in the works for weeks and
included legislation from multiple committees will the GOP's
top priority.
The " Lower Energy Costs Act " (HR 1) was sponsored by
Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and includes a large
slate of energy policy proposals collected from leaders of the
Energy and Commerce Committee, Natural Resources Committee
and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The
measure includes proposals aimed at speeding up the country's
approval process for energy production and transportation,
as well as curbing states' ability to block energy projects
that run through their waters.
The main goals highlighted by House leaders are to increase
domestic energy production, reform the permitting process for
all industries (both fossil fuel and renewable energy projects);
reverse " anti-energy policies " advanced by the Biden Administration;
streamline energy infrastructure projects and exports;
and boost the production and processing of critical minerals.
Specifically, these long-standing goals held by the energy
and construction industries are pursued by a range of policy
proposals by the abovementioned committees, including provisions
that would:
28 APRIL 2023 | UndergroundInfrastructure.com
* Provides certainty by imposing a 120-day deadline
on filing litigation on final agency actions concerning
energy and mining projects.
* Repeal all restrictions on the import and export
of natural gas, including LNG.
* Repeal President Biden's $6-billion natural gas tax.
* Disapprove of President Biden's canceling of the
Keystone XL pipeline.
* Require the Department of the Interior to resume
lease sales on federal lands and waters.
Purpose of the bill
" I am proud to announce that I will be introducing our H.R. 1,
the Lower Energy Costs Act, to cut red tape and increase energy
production here at home to lower energy costs and stop our
reliance on hostile foreign dictators for our energy and minerals, "
Majority Leader Scalise said while introducing the bill.
" With the introduction of the Lower Energy Costs Act, we
will put a stop to the war on American energy, become energy
independent again, and lower costs for families who are
struggling. "
Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris
Rodgers agreed. " From the gas station to the grocery store,
President Biden's war on energy is making life unaffordable
for the hardworking people of this country and forcing us to
be dangerously reliant on supply chains controlled by the Chinese
Communist Party.
" We must reverse course. HR 1 boosts energy production,
lifts regulatory burdens for the construction of more energy
infrastructure, cuts China out of our critical materials supply
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Underground Infrastructure - April 2023

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