Over 40 Organizations Support Hard-Working Americans With NEPA Reform

WASHINGTON—Following today’s press conference on efforts by U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) to nullify the Biden administration’s recently promulgated and onerous National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Implementing Regulations Revisions through a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution, Senator Sullivan’s press office released a list of organizations supporting the resolution.Sullivan’s resolution is supported by all 49 Senate Republicans. The names and statements (where applicable) of the groups supporting the resolution can be found below:

Alaska AFL-CIO

"The Alaska AFL-CIO supports responsible development that supports good paying jobs. We have a proven track record in Alaska and we look forward to working with Congress to streamline systems while still protecting our beautiful state."

Alaska Teamsters

Letter attached here.

Associated Builders and Contractors

“ABC strongly supports the efforts of Sen. Sullivan and his colleagues to reverse the Biden administration’s unnecessarily costly and burdensome revisions to NEPA regulations,” said ABC Vice President of Legislative & Political Affairs Kristen Swearingen. “This rulemaking would reverse the much-needed efforts of the previous administration to update and streamline the federal environmental review and permitting process. While Congress recently passed legislation providing an unprecedented investment in our nation’s infrastructure, including language specifically calling for streamlined environmental review, this rulemaking would delay the completion of these critical projects and increase costs for the construction industry and taxpayers without providing meaningful environmental benefits.

“Passing the resolution and undoing this harmful regulation would be a step toward promoting a coordinated, predictable and transparent process to streamline permitting. Congress should swiftly pass this resolution to enable the construction industry to plan and execute even the most complex projects while safeguarding our communities, maintaining a healthy environment and successfully stewarding public funds.”

International Union of Operating Engineers

Letter attached here.

LIUNA

“LIUNA commends Sen. Sullivan’s Joint Resolution under the Congressional Review Act to re-establish long overdue updates to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The NEPA updates will reduce the burdensome requirements that cause excessive permit delays. Too often, communities in need of vital infrastructure and the hard-working men and women who build America are waiting on the sidelines as projects are subjected to onerous reviews.

"Without the proposed reforms to the National Environmental Protection Act, long-overdue infrastructure projects will be jeopardized and good-paying union jobs sacrificed. The strong, proud, and united members of LIUNA are ready and willing to get to work building America but we need a more predictable and efficient system for permitting projects.

"LIUNA strongly supports Senator Sullivan’s Joint Resolution, using the Congressional Review Act to overturn the recent rollback of the 2020 National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) updates and urges the full Congress to quickly vote in favor of this needed legislation.” - Terry O’Sullivan, General President of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America

North America’s Building Trades Unions

“North America’s Building Trades Unions strongly supports efforts to alleviate the headwinds faced by the onerous NEPA review process. The excessive delays caused by NEPA inhibit our ability to provide pathways to the middle class for the hardworking men and women of this country. Policymakers must work to streamline these regulations not further convolute them; they must recognize that uncertainty on this matter has real world impacts on our members and the entire construction industry.”

Agricultural Retailers Association

“ARA strongly supports efforts in the Senate and House to reverse the Biden Administration’s final Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) rulemaking that will cause further delays of critical projects and is contrary to the permit reforms included by Congress in the bipartisan infrastructure legislation signed into law last year. Our nation needs to speed up the approval process for much-needed infrastructure projects that help create economic development, jobs and address supply chain disruptions, which will especially benefit the rural communities in which agricultural retailers and their farmer customers live and work.”

American Farm Bureau Federation

Letter attached here.

Public Lands Council

“For years, the National Environmental Policy Act process was inefficient and unreasonably costly. Bureaucratic delays held up critical transportation projects, water infrastructure, and basic stewardship activities. With this rule, the administration has turned back to the clock to a process that they themselves recognized as broken. Ranchers and the lands they manage need clear, predictable, and timely NEPA analysis. Thank you to Senator Sullivan and his colleagues for listening to ranchers and rural communities.” – Kaitlynn Glover, Executive Director of the Public Lands Council and NCBA Natural Resources.

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

Alaska Chamber of Commerce
Alaska Power Association

Letter attached here.

American Chemistry Council

“Timely and efficient infrastructure permitting is vital to keeping the business of chemistry moving and enabling the growth of innovative, lower-emissions technologies for energy and manufacturing. S.J. Res. 55 sends a clear message about the need to streamline the process. We applaud Senator Sullivan’s leadership on these important goals.”

National Association of Chemical Distributors

“The new National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations proposed by the Biden administration are a major step back in our mission to streamline the federal permitting process for infrastructure projects. Following last year’s passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, we must stay on track in reducing these onerous delays that would stall the updates to U.S. roads, bridges, ports, and other projects critical to our nation’s infrastructure and supply chain. In order to ensure U.S. infrastructure continues to modernize and improve, the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) urges bipartisan support in returning NEPA back to its original purpose.” - Eric R. Byer, President & CEO, NACD

National Association of Manufacturers

“In short, permitting certainty [for energy projects] is now at a premium,” NAM Senior Director of Energy & Resources Policy Nile Elam said. “Bridges take over 15 years to build, and as it stands now, companies need to invest countless resources and wasted time on duplicative permitting applications to expand their operations or onshore new facilities. Modern permitting reforms and environmental protection are not mutually exclusive—we can grow our economy, strengthen our domestic manufacturing and maintain the highest environmental stewardship while updating an archaic permitting process that benefits both the public and private sector. It is long past due for Washington policymakers to seize this opportunity, and every year we kick the can means the permitting process becomes even more burdensome.”

National Ocean Industries Association

“NEPA remains a vitally important piece of environmental protection. However, after nearly four decades NEPA has also become associated with costly litigation, prolonged project delays, job destruction, and stifling of investment. Unfortunately, the recent Phase 1 Final Rule may serve to continue that trend. NEPA impacts almost every sector of the U.S. economy, including the growing offshore renewable energy segment. Effective NEPA reform must enable a more efficient and timely regulatory process that balances the need for infrastructure investment and project development with environmental stewardship.” - Erik Milito, President, NOIA

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association

“As our nation works towards a future that depends on electricity to power most of the economy, Congress must continue to modernize the decades-old National Environmental Policy Act and protect previous reforms,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “Sensible NEPA reform is an essential first step to speeding the construction of electric transmission and other critical infrastructure. We thank Senator Sullivan for his leadership and for taking this important step that will help electric co-ops reliably keep the lights on at a cost that consumers can afford.”

National Sand, Stone, and Gravel Association

Letter attached here.

Resource Development Council for Alaska

“RDC welcomed the efforts by the previous administration that streamlined the NEPA review process, reduced unnecessary regulatory burdens, and clarified longstanding regulations without sacrificing environmental protections,” said Leila Kimbrell, Executive Director for the Resource Development Council for Alaska, “Unfortunately, the recent actions by the current administration to repeal those efficiencies takes us in the wrong direction and will most certainly lead to longer permitting timelines, uncertainty, and litigation, which benefits no one. We are key partner for clean energy solutions, like critical minerals. Alaska is a wealth of natural resources and has a long history of responsibly developing those resources. Rather than make the regulatory process more cumbersome, we need commonsense solutions to remain competitive. At a time when domestic energy independence is more critical than ever, RDC thanks Senator Sullivan for leading the effort to fight administrative overreach.”

The Fertilizer Institute

Letter attached here.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

“The Chamber supports Senator Sullivan’s and Representative Graves’ CRA resolutions to restore critical improvements to the NEPA regulations. To build the new transportation and energy infrastructure the nation so badly needs, we need clear and efficient permitting processes. CEQ’s changes to the previous NEPA improvements have moved us backwards. Adding steps in an already onerous and slow process, requiring more time-consuming analyses, increasing litigation risk for project decisions, and encouraging agencies to impose requirements that go beyond CEQ regulations will slow agency decision-making and stretch resources. There is tremendous opportunity to improve our transportation system, meet our energy needs of today and tomorrow, and build other critical national infrastructure. Restoring the earlier improvements will help avoid unnecessary delays and increased costs.”- Marty Durbin, Senior Vice President of Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Western Energy Alliance

“It is well recognized, except by radical environmental groups that want to stop any projects at all, that NEPA has been out of control for decades, raising the costs and severely delaying or halting vital infrastructure projects. Western Energy Alliance believes that conducting NEPA analysis to identify environmental impacts and work to mitigate them is a good thing, but when obstructionist groups use NEPA to tie up projects for years in analysis, red tape, and litigation it’s no longer about protecting the environment but about saying ‘no’ to any energy projects, pipelines, roads, and other infrastructure. At a time of runaway inflation and high energy prices, Sen. Sullivan’s CRA resolution could help move projects along to increase production of American energy and bring down prices for consumers.” - Kathleen Sgamma, President, Western Energy Alliance

Associated General Contractors of America

“This new NEPA rule adds to the regulatory uncertainty coming out of Washington that has created instability and made it harder to plan and manage construction projects. It is disappointing that instead of implementing the environmental review and permitting reforms included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the administration has instead chosen to add new, vague hurdles to this arduous process. The Associated General Contractors of America supports Senator Sullivan’s efforts to nullify this costly and burdensome regulation.” -Jimmy Christianson, Vice President of Government Relations, Associated General Contractors of America

Alaska Miners Association

Mining companies across the world are looking to invest in places with great mineral potential. Alaska is at the top of their lists for the next great discovery, but permitting uncertainty is the number one deterrent. The 2022 NEPA regulation changes eliminated improvements to the system and created yet one more roadblock to developing mines. The regulatory system puts the United States at a competitive disadvantage and we are losing the investment needed to bring jobs, revenues, and community benefits at a time we need it most. We wholeheartedly support SJ Resolution 55 and encourage Congress to recognize the importance of a robust and stable permitting system.

National Mining Association

“From highways to bridges, electricity generation to charging networks – American infrastructure begins with the products of mining. Yet even as demand for mined resources is increasing exponentially, mining projects continue to encounter obstacles from the delays and outsized costs associated with NEPA’s well-documented historical problems. At every step of the mining process, today’s mining industry takes extraordinary steps to protect the environment, the communities in which it operates and its workforce. The much-needed reforms of the 2020 rule helped NEPA to work as intended, balancing societal needs with world-leading environmental protections. Senator Sullivan’s Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the Council on Environmental Quality’s Phase 1 rule will once again bring long overdue improvements to a process that has become a barrier to rebuilding and modernizing essential infrastructure of all kinds.” – Rich Nolan, President and CEO of the National Mining Association

Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES)

Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) President Heather Reams issued the following statement on S.J. Res. 55, a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to nullify the Biden Administration’s revisions to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

“For years CRES has called upon lawmakers to inject some common sense into the National Environmental Policy Act and streamline federal environmental review processes. However, the Biden White House has taken us in the wrong direction. CRES applauds Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and his 49 Senate Republican colleagues for introducing a resolution to nullify President Biden’s flawed policies on permitting and construction.

“America cannot reduce emissions quickly if we are stymied by old and crumbling infrastructure. To build a clean energy future in America, and to protect our vulnerable communities from a changing climate, we need a permitting process that evaluates projects on the merits while discouraging anti-development groups from using environmental review simply to delay or block critical infrastructure construction.”

ClearPath Action

“The Administration’s ambitious clean energy targets are undermined by its own efforts through the revision of NEPA guidance. We can only build new clean energy projects and reduce CO2 emissions as fast as we can permit new projects. If we are to truly "build back better," the mission ought to be build cleaner faster. In addition to Senator Sullivan’s important effort, there are a number of legislative proposals to modernize the permitting process being written as we speak. The need to act is urgent, and can only be done if there are efforts to modernize the permitting process instead of moving backwards,” said Rich Powell, ClearPath Action CEO.

ConservAmerica

“America’s infrastructure is in dire need of investment and our capacity to produce and use energy needs to be modernized to meet demand and reduce emissions. Unfortunately, the Biden administration’s recently finalized National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations will make it much more difficult to receive the federal approvals required to start these projects.

“Remarkably, these new rules undercut many provisions intended to streamline the NEPA process that received strong bipartisan support in last year’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This additional ‘red tape’ unnecessarily hinders our ability to move forward on these vital projects and further exacerbates the inflationary pressures that harm many hardworking Americans. ConservAmerica applauds Senator Sullivan and his colleagues for moving forward with S.J. Res. 55." – Jeff Kupfer, President, ConservAmerica.

Alaska Oil & Gas Association

“The Alaska Oil and Gas Association has consistently supported reforms to the National Environmental Protection Act that maintain high environmental standards while providing for consistency in the permitting process. The recent revisions published by the Biden Administration will undo the commonsense reforms undertaken in 2020, and will delay approval and building of important projects. I commend Senator Sullivan for leading the charge to remove the unnecessary red tape.”

Alaska Support Industry Alliance

“The Alliance applauds Senator Sullivan for introducing S.J. Res. 55 to nullify the administration’s attempt to make it more difficult to build anything in America. We can’t “build back better” if we can’t build.”

American Petroleum Institute

“The Biden administration’s NEPA rewrite will only slow the permitting process for critical energy infrastructure and create new obstacles, not only for natural gas and oil development but also the deployment of CCUS, hydrogen, wind, solar and electricity transmission projects. As energy costs continue to rise, American consumers and our allies are looking to the U.S. for access to an affordable and stable energy supply. We need policies in place that provide certainty and ensure American producers can meet rising demand, not additional bureaucratic red tape.” -API Chief Advocacy Officer Amanda Eversole.

American Exploration & Production Council
American Public Gas Association

The American Public Gas Association (APGA), representing more than 730 communities across the U.S. that own and operate their retail natural gas distribution entities, issued the following statement in response to the introduction of Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions of disapproval in both the House and Senate related to the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) recent rulemaking revising its regulations for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

“APGA applauds House and Senate efforts to utilize the CRA to repeal CEQ’s recent rule revising its regulations for implementing NEPA. This rule undermines recent attempts to modernize and streamline the federal permitting process, including through certain provisions of the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. APGA was a strong supporter of this legislation, which also includes a significant investment in modernizing the natural gas distribution pipeline infrastructure our members use to deliver energy to American homes and businesses. A timely and efficient permitting process is critical to ensure federal funds deliver much-needed infrastructure projects to the communities APGA members serve.

“If this rule remains in effect, it will increase the regulatory burden on infrastructure project sponsors and delay much-needed projects. While APGA and its members appreciate the need to safeguard the environment, we believe there is a way to do that while still permitting infrastructure projects in a timely and efficient manner. Rolling back efforts to modernize the process is not the solution.

“APGA appreciates the members of the House and Senate who are willing to use the important oversight powers afforded by the CRA to push back against this rule and call attention to the negative impact it will have on efforts to strengthen and improve American infrastructure.”

Energy Equipment & Infrastructure Alliance

"The Energy Equipment and Infrastructure Alliance (EEIA) is in strong support for S.J. Resolution 55, introduced by Senator Sullivan and co-sponsored by 49 of his colleagues, disapproving the recently issued National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Implementing Regulations Revisions.

"America is blessed with vast reserves of natural gas and oil, along with a highly advanced energy industry that produces our resources under the most stringent environmental controls of any country in the world. This blessing has given Americans secure, affordable and reliable energy and enhanced national security at a time when most of the rest of the world is grappling with an historic energy crisis. Yet a key limitation on our ability to fully leverage this advantage is our currently inadequate energy transport capacity, particularly pipelines. This shortfall is worsening rapidly, and that is driving our energy prices higher.

"The reason our energy transport infrastructure cannot expand to meet growing demand is our government’s excessive and needlessly onerous infrastructure permitting hurdles which discourage investment in new capacity. This constraint will be made far worse by the Biden Administration’s NEPA Regulations Revisions, which roll back common-sense reforms that modernized federal environmental reviews. These new regulations, if allowed to stand, will make it far less likely that much-needed new projects will be initiated by midstream operators, reluctant to risk investing in the substantial up-front engineering and design work that precedes applications for permits that require environmental reviews under NEPA.

"As a result, Americans are paying a hefty price for no benefit, tens of thousands of energy infrastructure workers sit idle, and large investments in capital equipment for construction are stranded. Therefore we strongly urge adoption of S.J. Resolution 55."

Energy Workforce and Technology Council

“Energy Workforce & Technology Council applauds Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and the 49 cosponsors of S.J. Res. 55, which would repeal the overburdensome Phase I National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulation announced by the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) in April 2022. This regulation puts critical energy projects at risk of delay and excessive costs at a time when Americans and our allies are in need of increased infrastructure investment and energy production to meet growing global demand. Energy Workforce & Technology Council calls on the Senate to pass S.J. Res. 55 and empower the US oil and gas industry to secure clean, reliable energy for Americans and our allies abroad.” – Leslie Beyer, CEO, Energy Workforce & Technology Council

GPA Midstream Association

“We strongly support Senator Sullivan’s S.J. Res. 55. We support common sense NEPA permitting reforms that protect the environment while ensuring that critical energy infrastructure can be built.”

Independent Petroleum Association of America

The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) applauds Senator Sullivan for introducing S.J. Res 55 and his efforts to overturn the Biden Administration’s new NEPA rules.

"Since its enactment, requirements for the application of NEPA have grown considerably and place a heavy burden on independent oil and natural gas producers. While the law itself remains unchanged over the past 50 years, the courts, Presidential directives and significant regulatory modifications have made NEPA unworkable and far more complicated than the original intent of the law. IPAA supports efforts to modernize NEPA and reduce needless delays that hinder American oil and natural gas projects and badly needed infrastructure initiatives across the nation.

"The Biden Administration’s new rules move our nation in the wrong direction and will only add delays and hinder needed investment in energy projects around the nation.

"IPAA supports Senator Sullivan efforts and urge the Senate to quickly consider SJ Res 55."

Interstate Natural Gas Association of America

The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) appreciates Senator Dan Sullivan’s (R-AK) introduction of a proposal (S.J. Res. 55) that would reinstate the 2020 regulatory enhancements to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). INGAA’s membership, which represents companies that transport more than 95 percent of the nation’s natural gas through a network of nearly 200,000 miles of pipelines, advocated through the rulemaking process for portions of the 2020 NEPA rule to ensure its effectiveness without curtailing environmental protections. For critical infrastructure, including natural gas pipelines, these 2020 regulatory enhancements integrated leading case law, improved clarity, and resolved interpretive issues that previously reduced reliability in the NEPA process. We support the Senator’s call for a return to a more dependable, workable, efficient, and legally durable approach to NEPA.

Marcellus Shale Coalition

Joint quote from David Callahan, President, Marcellus Shale Coalition, Charlie Burd, Executive Director, Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia, and Rob Brundrett, President, Ohio Oil and Gas Association.

“The Biden Administration’s actions reversing key permitting reforms threaten to delay or derail critically necessary energy infrastructure projects, from natural gas pipelines to wind turbine installations. Investment decisions rely on a consistent and predictable regulatory environment, and continued ambiguity is a barrier to America realizing the economic, environmental and consumer benefits of abundant domestic natural gas."

Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia

Ohio Oil and Gas Association

Association of American Railroads

“Railroads support Sen. Sullivan and Rep. Graves effort to roll back overly burdensome NEPA regulations and preserve a more sensible, workable permitting process. As the most environmentally responsible way to move freight over land, railroads invest billions annually in making their network safer, more sustainable and more resilient. There is no doubt that protecting the environment and expediting project completion are both possible, and when it comes to the railroads, they go hand in hand.”

American Road & Transportation Builders Association

Rather than looking backward, the Council on Environmental Quality should be focused on implementing the project delivery reforms included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Senator Sullivan’s legislation will help achieve that goal.

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