Release the Dirty Permitting Bill Draft Now

As a West Virginian Veteran, I appreciate that person's right to speak out is a cornerstone of our democracy. For decades, people across the country have voiced their concerns about polluting facilities in their neighborhoods as part of the federal government's review and decision-making regarding permits and projects.

If it becomes easier to build gas pipelines through our backyards, like the Mountain Valley Pipeline, then the land, air, and water we depend on risks being poisoned, and us along with it.

Whether you call it the Permitting Reform Bill, the Polluter Loophole Bill, or just "Schumer's Deal with Manchin," there is legislation in works that threatens to change bedrock environmental laws in ways that would curtail or even remove the ability of communities across America to influence whether or not they'll have mining or fossil fuel projects built near their homes.

Thanks to the investments from the Inflation Reduction Act and requirements for electric vehicles and clean energy materials to be sourced domestically, there is a sudden significant need for expansion of hard rock mining in the United States. These critical resources are only going to become more important over the next three decades. But if Congress establishes a permitting system that disempowers communities and weakens environmental protections, the clean energy industry build out will come at the expense of the most vulnerable in our society, including Indigenous communities, low income communities, and communities of color.

Let's be clear, congressional leaders are keeping the legislation a tightly held secret, so we only have what was promised to Sen. Manchin in exchange for his support of the Inflation Reduction Act via a leaked version of the bill that contained the American Petroleum Institute's watermark. Any effort to change bedrock environmental laws and public engagement in federal permitting should be conducted in a transparent and public discussion, not in secret side deals attached to must pass governmental funding legislation. It is also notable that an MIT study on 53 big clean energy projects showed that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the law that this legislation takes aim at, wasn't the limiting factor in the time to completion, and that early engagement with potential local opponents can avoid extended delays or project cancelations. In other words, the law that brings in public participation and environmental considerations actually proves helpful, rather than a source of delay, for clean energy infrastructure projects. Another study by the Forest Service published in Columbia's Environmental Law Journal came to the same conclusion and further found that a robust NEPA analysis led to faster permitting.

As a West Virginian, I know that my family and my neighbors' health and welfare depend on sensible permitting processes and strong environmental protections. Absent those protections, I know that my family in Monroe County, West Virginia will see waterways polluted and become toxic. Those waterways provide their drinking water and water for their livestock and farms. Even under the existing system, I watch as my family in Flint, Michigan continues to suffer due to polluted drinking water. If Congress guts the existing protections, I will watch it happen all over again. If it becomes easier to build gas pipelines through our backyards, like the Mountain Valley Pipeline, then the land, air, and water we depend on risks being poisoned, and us along with it.

To those negotiating this bill, I call on you to immediately release your most recent draft of the legislation, so we can understand the possible ramifications of the bill. We deserve to know how it could adversely affect us all. Negotiating such an important bill while keeping the public in the dark is anti-democratic and must not continue. Transparency is key for a fair and just democracy.

Release the draft.