HYDE SMITH SUPPORTS ENERGY PERMITTING REFORMS, BUT RAISES CONCERNS OF IMPACT ON MISS. ELECTRIC CO OPS

HYDE-SMITH SUPPORTS ENERGY PERMITTING REFORMS, BUT RAISES CONCERNS OF IMPACT ON MISS. ELECTRIC CO-OPS

Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Approves Bipartisan Bill to Cut Red Tape

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today supported committee approval of a far-reaching bill to strengthen American energy security by reforming the federal permitting process for critical energy and mineral projects in the United States.

Hyde-Smith serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that marked up the bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 (S.4753), a measure that would expedite permitting decisions and review of legal challenges to energy, mineral, and electricity production and distribution projects. It was approved 15 to 4.

"The reforms in this legislation are overdue. The citizens of this country and my state will be better off by cutting red tape in the permitting process, providing greater stability in oil and gas production, and enhance energy security overall. That said, I think the bill can still be improved," Hyde-Smith said.

Of interest to Mississippi, the measure would mandate increased offshore oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, permanently end the Biden administration's so-called pause on liquified natural gas (LNG) exports, and expedite judicial reviews of federal energy and mineral project authorizations.

Hyde-Smith, in a statement for the record, indicated the need to address concerns raised by electric cooperatives in Mississippi regarding interstate electric transmission reform, specifically citing a state law enacted last year to maintain state jurisdiction over the integrity of electric transmission infrastructure.

"I want to make sure that the voices of our electric cooperatives are being heard, too. Co-ops in Mississippi have raised concerns regarding the changes to Section 401 in this bill, specifically regulatory overreach, cost allocation, and state authority," Hyde-Smith said.

"We have to be aware of the potential setback the Energy Permitting Bill Act could cause for my state's control of new transmission projects if FERC's authority can supersede these state regulations. So as this measure continues to move through the legislative process, I want to ensure that our co-ops are being heard and that their concerns are being addressed," the Senator added. "We can't leave our electric cooperatives out of the conversation."

Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who negotiated the legislation, indicated a willingness to work with committee members to address a variety of remaining concerns with the bill, which could be considered by the full Senate later this year.

Read a section-by-section summary of S.4753, as introduced, here.

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