“We all have an interest to make sure these projects move faster.”Įlizabeth Gore, senior vice president for political affairs at the Environmental Defense Fund, said “the deal makes it marginally easier to build clean energy projects, but more needs to be done to accelerate this transition and protect communities from environmental harms." “We got a little done here, but we’ll need to get more done later,” White House budget director Shalanda Young, a key negotiator on the budget deal, told reporters this week. Administration officials warn that the yearslong process of awarding permits for infrastructure projects needs to be streamlined if the country is going to build enough transmission lines and clean energy projects to reach ambitious targets for slashing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. The failure to agree on a more sweeping overhaul on permitting rules was not a complete surprise, given the complexity of the topic and the tight deadline for talks because of the threat of a historic default on the country’s debt.īut the outcome leaves an important item on President Joe Biden’s legislative to-do list. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who was a key vote for last year's sweeping legislation that included deep investments in climate programs. The White House supported the plan over the objections of environmentalists and some Democrats as a concession to Sen. One project got special treatment: the legislation essentially ensures construction of the long-delayed Mountain Valley Pipeline, a $6.6 billion project to transport natural gas through Appalachia. The budget deal was approved Thursday in the Senate, as lawmakers worked to meet a Monday deadline before the U.S. (Heather Rousseau/The Roanoke Times via AP, File) Heather Rousseau/AP Show More Show Less The decision Monday, May 15, 2023, will allow for construction of the $6.6 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline across a 3.5-mile corridor of the national forest. Forest Service has reissued approval for the controversial and long-delayed natural gas pipeline to run through Jefferson National Forest in Virginia and West Virginia. 221 in Roanoke County, Va., to make a tunnel through which the Mountain Valley Pipeline will pass under the highway, seen on Friday, June 22, 2018. (Heather Rousseau/The Roanoke Times via AP) Heather Rousseau/AP Show More Show Less 2 of8 FILE - Construction crews are boring beneath U.S. Despite weeks of negotiations, the White House and House Republicans were unable to reach a comprehensive agreement to overhaul environmental regulations and streamline federal permitting as part of their budget deal. 1 of8 FILE - Sections of pipe are lined off of Cove Hollow Road in Elliston, in Montgomery County, Va., on Sept.
0 kommentar(er)
