The American Petroleum Institute (API) unveiled its policy roadmap, which urges Congress to modernize the country’s outdated permitting system to help ensure low American energy costs.
“American energy is ready to go, but Washington’s broken permitting system is standing in the way,” API President and CEO Mike Sommers said in a written statement. “As energy demand rises, critical infrastructure to deliver it is stuck behind red tape. It’s time for Congress to act on durable reforms that ensure access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy — because when America builds, America wins.”
The permitting platform outlines what API believes are critical reform areas, including:
- Enforcing statutory timelines under the Clean Water Act
- Scrapping last-minute information roadblocks
- Improving permitting timelines on federal lands and waters
- Establishing a modern, uniform process for cross-border energy projects
- Setting clear timelines for legal challenges and fixing instead of cancelling permits
An API press release explains there are “virtually no limits on who can sue or how long they can wait to do it, leaving infrastructure projects stuck in limbo.”
Dustin Meyer, API’s senior vice president of policy, economics, and regulatory affairs, said that permitting should be a number one priority for Congress.
He remarked, “I think what’s most interesting about this moment politically is that you’re starting to see more appreciation from a bipartisan spectrum as to why something like this is really necessary, and I think a big part of that is — look, part of it’s because of what’s happening for electricity demand.”
Meyer added, “It’s not just about benefiting the oil and gas industry, it’s about every other sector of the economy, about every other energy resource out there. So, everybody really stands to win from that. I think that’s why the political appetite for this and the political momentum is stronger today than what it has been in years past.”
Meyer argued that the permitting process enables more energy development, which enables the development of the rest of President Donald Trump’s agenda.
He explained, “This is how you cement this vision for American energy leadership, not just for the next four years, but for generations to come. Because no matter what good policies you have coming out of the administration. If project developers can’t actually put steel in the ground, you’re not really going to experience those benefits.”
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