Lawmakers behind a bipartisan permitting reform package released amendments to their bill this weekend ahead of a consequential procedural vote Monday. It’s not clear their changes went far enough to win over their critics.
The amendments seek to address concerns from environmental groups, Native American tribes and the utility industry. The bipartisan group of lawmakers struck a section that would have let the federal government take over the role of tribal historic preservation officers in some cases and strengthened some provisions around building transmission lines that could support a clean energy transition.
Among other changes, the amendment also adds a new “data center community assistance” program, which would offer local, state and tribal governments technical assistance on a proposed data center’s impacts on power, water, costs, jobs and taxes. The bill already included provisions that would force data center developers to pay more for power.
After the amendment was released Saturday, the advocacy group Evergreen Action joined other climate-solutions-focused organizations in endorsing the deal, saying it would enable a clean energy transition and keep down energy costs.
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“These changes have been too long delayed, already. Despite the monumental election, I do not believe that a better deal is around the corner,” Lena Moffitt, the executive director of Evergreen Action, said in a statement.
But several groups said the amendment didn’t go far enough. The changes did not sway a coalition dedicated to the preservation of the National Historic Preservation Act that includes the National Congress of American Indians and the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers.
That coalition characterized the amendment as “lipstick on a pig.”
Major players like the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council also have not yet said whether their conditional opposition might turn into support.
The amendment comes before a major test of the unsteady coalition behind the bill. It remains unclear whether Democrats are willing to support a deal negotiated with Republican leaders and the White House after massive victories in the midterms that will shift the balance of power in Congress leftward after January.
The Trump administration and other Republicans have pushed for Congress to pass the bill, framing it as a fast-track for infrastructure development.
Bill sponsor Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) said the amendment “preserves the foundation” of the deal while making “targeted changes” based on stakeholder feedback.
“I’ve worked hard to incorporate the feedback we’ve heard from Tribes and New Mexicans into this Substitute Amendment,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico), another sponsor of the legislation.
In recent days, heavy-hitters like the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the North American Building Trades Union have come out in support of the legislation. But with the wind of Tuesday’s blue wave in their sails, some Democrats and environmental groups expressed their opposition, saying a better deal could come together with the balance of power in Congress shifting to the left.
Before the amendment was released, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said the deal “falls short” on issues of Tribal sovereignty and environmental policy reform, and criticized the lack of input from House members. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) said Democrats should push for a better deal, as did Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), who opposed the package. On Saturday, a spokesperson for Wyden said the senator’s team “continue to have unresolved concerns.”
Reps. Melanie Stansbury (D-New Mexico) and Adelita Grijalva (D-Arizona) called for Senate leadership to “reconsider” Monday’s vote.
Stansbury and Grijalva said the bill, even with the amendment, would “undermine Tribal sovereignty and cultural rights, weaken protections for communities, the environment, public lands, clean water, and wildlife, and severely limit the ability of communities to have their voices heard in decisions that directly impact them.”
The changes weren’t enough to win over the All Pueblo Council of Governors, a group Heinrich has worked closely with in the past, which said they did not receive a draft of the amendment and haven’t been able to participate in the process. Several groups and lawmakers have expressed that concern as the permitting bill moves through Congress without any committee hearings.
The chair of the council, Joey Sanchez of Santa Ana Pueblo, said the process disrespected tribes and was an “affront to their sovereignty.”
“We are profoundly disappointed and frustrated,” Sanchez said. “Despite the concerns we relayed, both the Tribes and the Public are still not part of the process, and APCG still have not been consulted.”
Several groups said the amendments constituted improvements, but still fell short.
Abre’ Conner, director of the NAACP’s Center for Environmental and Climate Justice, told The Sun, “while some portions of the bill have improved, the bill’s fundamental problems are still there.”
“It will still be harder to hold polluters accountable and core environmental laws remain weaker,” Conner said.
The Coalition of Large Tribes, which proposed several changes to the bill that were incorporated into the amendment, said Saturday that the group was “grateful to see many positive changes,” but said there was “still room for improvement.”
The bill has received some support from Native American groups and Tribal leaders, particularly those with energy resources. Apsáalooke Nation/Crow Tribe chair Frank White Clay expressed support in a letter to the bill’s sponsors in late October, saying unpredictable permitting timelines have hindered investments.
“We appreciate your bipartisan leadership in addressing permitting barriers that limit economic opportunity for tribes with coal, oil and natural gas resources,” Clay wrote.
The National Tribal Energy Association sent a letter Thursday in support of provisions that “advance Tribal self-determination, streamline infrastructure deployment across Indian Country, and unlock Tribal energy potential.” And Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas), a citizen of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and the longest-serving Native woman in Congress, also came out in support of the permitting reform package Friday.
Big environmental nonprofits mainly hedged last month, noting that the bill could have important benefits for the clean energy transition but expressing concern over rollbacks to bedrock environmental laws and the rights of tribes. On Friday, the Sierra Club issued a fuller-throated opposition.
“As currently drafted, this bill will hand more power to the executive branch, erode democratic norms, and cause environmental harm to our water, wildlife, and public health protections far beyond the scope of federal permitting. The Sierra Club cannot support this bill as currently written,” Sierra Club executive director Loren Blackford wrote in a statement Friday.
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