Sen. Pat Toomey Introduces Pipeline Permitting Bill Before Exiting Senate

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) heads into the Senate chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on June 23, 2022. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

With just days left in the 117th Congress, exiting U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican, has introduced a measure that would ease the permitting process for pipelines.

The Pipeline Permitting for Energy Security Act is described as creating regulatory certainty for natural gas pipeline construction across the United States. Specifically, it would approve the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, spanning 303 miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia.

Completing this pipeline could create more access to natural gas from Pennsylvania.

“It is long past time to stop the exploitation of outdated laws to prevent the construction of pipelines, which are the safest and most efficient way to transport natural gas, by activists and the politicians who cater to them,” Toomey said in a statement. “The obstruction of commonsense, essential energy infrastructure projects has resulted in higher energy costs, increased global reliance on energy produced by tyrants like Vladimir Putin, and ironically prevented increased distribution of the energy source most responsible for the declines in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.”

The Senate’s session days are nearly over and the bill will die at the end of the year, but an aide said it was introduced as a standalone bill and the hope is to add to the conversation that’s already been started on permitting. Several stakeholder groups are supportive of language in Toomey’s bill, and there is significant interest in moving permitting reform forward both inside and outside Congress, the aide said.

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, then the Democrat Senate candidate, is welcomed on stage during a rally at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, Pa., on Aug. 12, 2022. (Nate Smallwood/Getty Images)

Toomey will be replaced by Democrat John Fetterman who has spoken both in support of and opposition to the gas industry.

House Will Bring It to Next Session

U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, a Pennsylvania Republican, introduced a House companion bill to Toomey’s proposal and is expected to pursue it into the next session.

Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) during an interview with The Epoch Times' "American Thought Leaders" program at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 28, 2021. (The Epoch Times)

“Pennsylvania is the second-largest natural gas producing state in the country, and I’m committed to making sure the Keystone State can continue to serve as an energy leader in the United States and around the world,” Kelly said in a statement. “The Biden administration has created so many burdensome regulations on our domestic energy production during his first two years in office, driving costs up and shrinking the value of Americans’ hard-earned dollar. This bill eases regulatory conditions so pipelines can transport that gas from Pennsylvania to the Northeastern United States, ultimately lowering energy costs for families and businesses. I thank Senator Toomey for his joint effort to ensure Pennsylvania can lead America’s energy comeback.”

Specifically, the Pipeline Permitting for Energy Security Act would:

• Limit state authority to delay pipeline construction by mandating concrete timelines for Clean Water Act review. • Clarify factors unrelated to water quality not to be considered in the Clean Water Act review process. • Provide clear scope of navigable waters included in Clean Water Act review. • Protect the use of general permits to prevent duplicative review of construction along the same pipeline. • Streamline the National Environmental Policy Act review process for major federal projects. • Prevent the expansion of the Endangered Species Act qualifications to obstruct pipeline infrastructure. • Shorten standard Endangered Species Act consultation timeframes and create a new expedited consultation process for projects proven to cause minimal effect.

“The Biden administration has implemented strict, overreaching regulations that have hindered American energy production during a period of record inflation and energy prices across the board,” Kelly’s communications director Matt Knoedler told The Epoch Times.

“We are working to make it easier to produce clean natural gas and lower energy costs so hardworking Americans can save money. Further, with Republicans now in the majority in the House, we are making good on our promise to draft legislation that allows for increased American energy production and to lower costs for Americans,” Knoedler said.

“We are also interested in working on this topic in the 118th Congress should it not be included into a deal this year so, in our eyes, there are several paths forward for this legislation.”