There is growing con- 2010s—constituting 26% of the total miles of new sensus across the political spectrum that processes powerlines—federal permitting mattered.6 And for need to be improved and strengthened, as recent many of the hundreds of new projects that must be and ongoing reforms make evident. [...] The most ing the core functions of NEPA—the cornerstone recent changes include NEPA amendments in the of the federal permitting and environmental review Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA) and recent process—including its coordination and informa- and pending updates to NEPA implementing regu- tion-sharing provisions which support early identi- lations. [...] has failed to build critical that accompanies new manufacturing and indus- transmission infrastructure at the pace it trial facilities and the proliferation of data centers.12 needs, despite continued acknowledgement of the challenge Transmission investment also supports the achieve- In the face of the immense scale of needed trans- ment of U. [...] 33 This was, in part, a response to past failings by government and industry to take into account Permitting Process for the impact and externalities of human impacts on Transmission Development the environment.34 The NEPA process establishes a framework whereby consideration of environmen- The permitting process for the construction of trans- tal impacts forms a substantial part of the record mis. [...] Effective environmental review is a key ferent authorities (federal, state, Tribal, and local) component of responsible development as it, ideally, generally expands as the size and jurisdictional reach enlightens the decision-maker and the public as to of the transmission project increases.
- Pages
- 97
- Published in
- United States of America
