Penn-Live. 4.9.26. T.J. Rooney 

This July, construction is slated to begin on the Tioga Pathway Project, with a target in-service date of fall 2026. The project will expand pipeline transportation capacity to move Marcellus and Utica Shale gas from the Appalachian Basin into the interstate pipeline grid, strengthening energy reliability across the region.

Due to several delays, the approval process took roughly three years from proposal to groundbreaking. By today’s standards, that is still considered fast — which should give policymakers pause. Across the country, major energy infrastructure projects routinely face far longer timelines at both the federal and state levels. Yet American energy independence depends on a steady pipeline of new infrastructure, something that is far from guaranteed under the current permitting regime.

Pennsylvania plays a central role in this equation. From coal to natural gas extracted from the Marcellus Shale, the Commonwealth consistently ranks among the world’s leading energy producers. But production alone is not enough. It takes an extensive network of pipelines, compressor stations, processing facilities, and export terminals to move that energy from where it is extracted to where it is consumed. If we are serious about maximizing Pennsylvania’s energy potential, we must confront a hard truth: the permitting framework governing major infrastructure projects is no longer functioning as intended.

At the heart of the problem is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). When enacted, NEPA served an important purpose by requiring federal agencies to evaluate and disclose the environmental impacts of major projects. Over time, however, the process has evolved into a significant bottleneck. Today, the average timeline for completing a NEPA review stretches to roughly four and a half years, delaying projects that are critical to both economic growth and energy reliability.

Pennsylvania has experienced these consequences firsthand. Consider the PennEast Pipeline, a $1.2 billion, 115-mile project designed to transport 1.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, to Mercer County, New Jersey. After spending seven years navigating federal reviews, legal challenges, and state-level permit denials, the project became emblematic of a system that too often prevents completion rather than ensures responsible development.

Although the Supreme Court ultimately affirmed the project’s authority to proceed by allowing federally approved infrastructure to exercise eminent domain over state-owned land, the years of delay had already rendered the project financially untenable. It was ultimately canceled, a stark reminder that even when project sponsors ultimately prevail in a permitting dispute, the drawn-out timeline can kill new energy infrastructure.

The scale and complexity of the review process further illustrate the problem. A Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) fact sheet found that environmental impact statements between 2013 and 2018 averaged 575 pages, with a quarter exceeding 600 pages. Layers of interagency coordination, duplicative analysis, and the constant threat of litigation have created a system defined less by careful review and more by prolonged delay.

Encouragingly, there is growing recognition on both sides of the political aisle that reform is needed. A Bipartisan Policy Center poll found that 61 percent of voters support efforts to expedite the federal permitting process. Lawmakers in both parties are beginning to respond. In July of last year, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) introduced the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development (SPEED) Act, which would help streamline judicial review by limiting NEPA lawsuits to parties that participated in the public comment process.

Permitting reform does not require sacrificing environmental protections. It means establishing clear timelines, reducing redundancy, and providing greater legal certainty so that once a project meets established standards, it can proceed without indefinite delay.

America’s energy security depends on continued innovation and timely infrastructure development. Pennsylvania’s ability to lead in that effort depends on Washington making it a top priority this year to modernize a permitting system that no longer delivers timely, predictable outcomes. For a state with the resources, workforce, and infrastructure to power the nation, the cost of inaction is simply too high.

T.J. Rooney served as chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and is a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He’s now a principal at Tri State Strategies Pennsylvania and Rooney Novak Isenhour Group.

Link: Pennsylvania is one of the world’s top energy producers — so why can’t it build pipelines? | Opinion – pennlive.com

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