DOE Issues Final Rule to Streamline Transmission Permitting
Update provided by Meguire Whitney
The Department of Energy issued a final rule April 25 establishing the Coordinated Interagency Transmission Authorizations and Permits Program, which aims to streamline federal environmental reviews as well as siting and permitting processes for new transmission projects. Under the CITAP Program, DOE will coordinate with federal agencies to consolidate environmental reviews and authorizations into a single National Environmental Policy Act review document. The rule also sets a permitting decision deadline of two years after an application is filed—which is about twice as fast as current averages.
The rule is part of DOE’s “holistic, multifaceted approach” to facilitate grid expansion and clean energy development, seen by the Biden administration as vital for progressing toward a carbon-free power sector by 2035. The rule does not apply to backstop siting permits, which are under the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Cabinet Secretaries Defend FY 2025 Budget Before Congressional Committees
Update provided by Meguire Whitney
Cabinet secretaries from the Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of the Interior, among others, testified on Capitol Hill to defend fiscal year 2025 departmental budgets.
In testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm discussed the need to invest in the electric grid and how grid-enhancing technologies can increase line capacity and efficiency. She also encouraged Congress to consider permitting reforms such as a “shot clock” for federal reviews, establishing one lead federal agency, and expanding categorical exclusions from the National Environmental Policy Act for certain projects.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan, appearing before the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, faced multiple questions regarding the agency’s recent series of rules targeting pollution from power plants. Republican lawmakers also criticized the agency’s new tailpipe rules, saying the rules are pushing the U.S. toward a government-mandated transition to EVs. Regan pushed back on these remarks, noting that consumers still have other options for purchase.
In the House Committee on Natural Resources, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland was peppered with questions about various agency spending decisions and actions, including the Bureau of Land Management’s recently released Public Lands Rule that places conservation and restoration on equal status as energy development and mining for federal land use. Haaland defended the rule, saying it “restore[s] balance to our public lands,” and that “our public lands have a multipurpose mandate, and so we just wanted to make sure that all of the uses can be worked on a par with one another.” Congressional committees will continue to review proposed agency budgets for FY 2025 in coming weeks.
DOE Releases Report on AI, Grid Management
Update provided by Meguire Whitney
On April 29, the Department of Energy released “AI and Energy: Opportunities for a Modern Grid and Clean Energy Economy,” a first-ever report on how AI could be deployed to help improve and optimize key areas of grid management. For example, the report mentions potentially using AI-accelerated power grid models for capacity and transmission studies, using advanced AI for energy production forecasting, using smart grid applications of AI to enhance resilience, and using AI to streamline siting and permitting processes.
The report’s release was part of a broader series of actions announced by DOE in implementing President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14110 on AI. DOE also released a second report, “Advanced Research Directions in AI for Energy,” on some of the long-term opportunities and challenges in AI, as well as launched a new website showcasing DOE-developed AI tools and foundation models.
CEQ Finalizes Phase 2 NEPA Revisions
Update provided by Meguire Whitney
On April 30, the Council on Environmental Quality finalized Phase 2 revisions to National Environmental Policy Act rules to implement changes enacted in last year’s debt ceiling deal. Among other things, the Fiscal Responsibility Act set page length and time limits for federal environmental reviews, directed that a lead agency handle evaluations to avoid duplicative reviews, established a new framework for granting categorical exclusions, and created a pathway for more programmatic rather than site-specific environmental reviews.
The regulations issued by the Biden administration aim to implement these changes. However, they also direct that climate considerations, as well as outreach to and consideration of environmental justice communities, be part of the review process—elements that were not part of the legislative package passed last year. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has already indicated he will seek to overturn the rule using a Congressional Review Act resolution, saying it “disregard[s] the deal that was made, the intent of the law that was signed,” and would slow projects down.
House Homeland Security Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Cyber Incident Reporting
Update provided by Meguire Whitney
On May 1, the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection held a hearing on how various critical sectors would be impacted by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s recent notice of proposed rulemaking that implements the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022. CIRCIA requires covered entities to report to CISA any covered cyber incidents within 72 hours and any ransom payments made as a result of a ransomware attack within 24 hours.
Panel members heard from witnesses, including Scott Aaronson from the Edison Electric Institute. Aaronson said the details of how CISA implements CIRCIA or any mandatory cyber incident regime matters. He highlighted the need for CISA to harmonize cyber incident reporting requirements amongst federal agencies to limit duplicative reporting burdens before the final rule is released. He said CISA should leverage sector risk management agencies, like the Department of Energy, for information sharing and operation collaborating. He added that CISA needs to narrow the scope of reporting requirements to truly impactful incidents. When Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) asked if Aaronson had concerns about having a single reporting system under CISA, Aaronson responded by saying it is important that the information being reported and archived is protected and does not become open-source information.
At the hearing, both Subcommittee Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) and Ranking Member Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) noted their support for the 30-day extension (to July 3) that CISA is granting for the notice of proposed rulemaking comment period. Garbarino said it was “important to get this right” given the proposal’s impacts on critical infrastructure sectors.
Text Released for Bipartisan Nuclear Energy Deal
Update provided by Meguire Whitney
Senate negotiators released text of a long-awaited nuclear energy package May 1, with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) offering the proposal as an amendment to the $105 billion Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, which may be the last must-pass legislation Congress considers until September. The Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2024 is a compromise between bipartisan House and Senate bills aimed at bolstering nuclear energy.
The agreed-upon package—which aims to speed up the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s licensing practices and promote next-generation nuclear reactors—includes language to broaden the scope of the commission’s mission to ensure licensing does “not unnecessarily limit” nuclear energy. The compromise package also dropped a provision from the earlier Senate bill. The provision in the earlier bill provided $100 million to the Environmental Protection Agency for the cleanup of abandoned uranium sites on tribal land.
Several other energy and environmental provisions were also offered among the 20 amendments to the bill. Among other things, these amendments included proposals to shorten environmental reviews for semiconductor projects funded by the CHIPS and Science Act, extend the filling period for radiation exposure compensation claims, and establish a revenue-sharing system for offshore renewable energy production. The FAA reauthorization passed its first procedural hurdle in the Senate on May 1, but still has a way to go ahead of its May 10 deadline to reauthorize the bill.