“Pay to Play” Expedited Gas Pipeline Permitting Provisions Removed From Senate Reconciliation Bill Text

Controversial provisions that would have added a “pay to play” expedited permitting scheme for methane gas pipelines have been removed from the “big, beautiful bill” currently being debated in Congress.

The text released this week by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee omits the provisions included in the House version of the bill that would have allowed gas pipeline operators to pay a one-time fee of $10 million to guarantee a permit decision within one year’s time that additionally would be exempted from any judicial review.

After learning of this back-room deal pushed by industry was snuck into the text of the bill, landowners and advocates took action and voiced their concerns to their representatives in Congress. Bold Alliance joined more than 66 organizations in a letter sent to the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on May 13, opposing the fast-tracking of permitting for pipelines and LNG in the text of the budget reconciliation bill. Lawmakers heard their voices and have removed the controversial pay to play scheme for gas pipelines from the bill’s text.

Unfortunately, still remaining in the bill is a similar provision that establishes a pay to play scheme for the permitting of LNG export terminals, and advocates and landowners will continue to monitor the ongoing debate in the event the pipeline language is snuck back in.

“We applaud members of Congress for hearing the concerns of landowners facing the threat of eminent domain seizure of their property for risky fossil fuel projects like fracked gas pipelines, and removing this outrageous gift to industry that was snuck into the budget bill,” said Mark Hefflinger, Communications Director for Bold Alliance. “We’ll continue to monitor the debate to make sure these pay to play schemes that would fast-track eminent domain authority don’t creep back in.”

Recently, landowners and advocates voiced their concerns about a similar odious provision in the reconciliation bill that would have created a new federal permitting scheme with federal eminent domain authority for carbon dioxide pipelines, along with the pay to play expedited permitting and exemption from judicial review. Nearly 70 organizations also signed onto a letter sent to Energy & Commerce Committee members ahead of the vote, opposing the fast-track permitting of pipelines that carry oil, CO2 and hydrogen that was included in the reconciliation bill text. After hearing concerns from landowners on the CO2 pipeline provisions, lawmakers also took action to remove that text from the bill.

Before a scheduled press conference to demand that South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson withhold his vote on the reconciliation bill unless the federal eminent domain land grab for CO2 pipelines was removed, Rep. Johnson reached out to advocates via text message: “I wanted you to be the first to know that the provision preempting state authority over carbon pipelines is being removed from the House reconciliation bill. I received confirmation from Republican leadership that the provision will be removed in Rules Committee on Wednesday morning.”

Read the organizational sign-on letter to Congress re: fast-track gas permitting

Groups opposed to Fast Tracking Dirty Energy