SW Arkansas Times

Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a full committee legislative hearing on three bills related to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) issued the following statement in response:

"America's permitting process is broken. Today, we are taking major steps to reform the NEPA process that radical special interest groups have weaponized to block projects ranging from transportation and infrastructure to forestry, conservation and energy development. We have the incredible opportunity to solve some of the most pressing issues facing our communities by streamlining permitting for crucial infrastructure projects and eliminating bureaucratic red tape that is holding back development of our domestic energy and mineral resources."

The discussion draft of H.R. _____, introduced by U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), will amend NEPA to address flaws in the statute that have resulted in lengthy timelines and increased litigation. The bill aims to minimize the amount of analysis required in agency documents, clarify the threshold for when NEPA is triggered, and create limitations and timelines for the judicial review process.

H.R. 6129, the Studying NEPA's Impact on Projects Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-Ind.), will inform policymakers on NEPA's impacts by requiring the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to publish an annual report on NEPA projects and outcomes. This will increase transparency around the process.

H.J. Res. 168, introduced by U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), holds CEQ accountable for their disregard of Congress's intent in promulgating CEQ's use of the Phase Two rule. CEQ should streamline the permitting process fairly for all projects under NEPA. This bill expresses Congress's disapproval of the current Phase Two rule and would send the agency back to the drawing board.