Senate consideration of the proposal included in a stopgap spending bill was a condition the West Virginia Democrat won for his support of the $369B climate funding package President Joe Biden signed in August.
In an attempt to speed construction of multistate pipelines, liquefied natural gas terminals and cross-border infrastructure projects, President Donald Trump has signed two broad executive orders directing agencies to change current review processes, including Section 401 permits under the Clean Water Act.
Last year was a good year for the Associated General Contractors of America. AGC members got a boost from a business-friendly Trump administration that began rolling back regulations like the blacklisting rule and push through a tax-cut package that lowers the pass-through rate.
Under a memorandum of understanding announced on Jan. 26, Louisiana and federal agencies will attempt to trim three years off the permitting timetable for the $1.3-billion mid-Barataria Diversion Project, a key part of a plan to rebuild Louisiana’s shrinking coastline.
Though the new chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission—the agency responsible for approving massive natural-gas pipelines—is making progress clearing a six-month backlog of such projects, he may be hamstrung by procedures put in place by the Obama administration and by at least one fellow commissioner.
