Source Rock Blog
The Push for Permitting Reform in Congress
March 25, 2025
The United States is blessed with an abundance of oil and natural gas resources, yet burdensome permitting processes stifle development and economic growth. With Congress returning from Spring Recess, it's a good time to evaluate lawmakers' efforts to advance permitting reforms aimed at unleashing American energy.
Committees in both the House and Senate have held recent hearings prioritizing permitting reform and investigating the excessive delays and legal obstacles that have turned energy and infrastructure projects into bureaucratic nightmares. On both sides of the aisle and across a broad spectrum of stakeholders the message was clear: America needs a more efficient permitting system.
The Permitting Crisis
Permitting and requisite environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) have strayed far from their original intent. Designed to ensure environmental consideration on projects with a federal nexus, NEPA has instead become a tool for obstruction. Lengthy environmental reviews, duplicative agency oversight, and endless litigation have turned permitting into a multi-year ordeal.
Critical oil and natural gas projects often suffer extensive delays that drive up costs, deter capital investment, and threaten energy reliability. The United States faces surging energy demand for emerging AI data centers and policymakers push to expand energy-hungry manufacturing in our country.
Aaron Johnson
Vice President of
Public and Legislative Affairs
Congress Takes Action
Recent congressional committee hearings spotlighted the need for reform. Lawmakers, industry leaders, and stakeholders delivered a unified message: permitting delays are holding back America’s energy production, driving up prices for consumers, and threatening jobs.
- Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) emphasized, “For too long, critical projects such as energy and infrastructure projects, along with industrial projects as well, have been trapped in a cycle of redundant reviews, shifting goalposts, and regulatory uncertainty.” Looking ahead, she is confident that in “this Congress, we have an opportunity, I think, to deliver meaningful, bipartisan legislation that addresses these problems.”
- Gary Arnold, Business Manager of Denver Pipefitters Local 208, stressed that stalled projects mean fewer high-paying jobs and lost economic opportunities for local communities. He noted, “It is clear that we must move much faster on permitting and reduce the ability of fringe groups to leverage seemingly endless chokepoints to punish companies for undertaking projects to build the energy infrastructure we need.”
- Brigham McCown, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, testified, “Meaningful investment in needed Infrastructure requires a stable policy environment. America's Achilles heel is self-imposed.” He called on lawmakers to “ensure federal regulations are performance-based and technology-agnostic. Real permitting reform is required to deploy much-needed infrastructure rapidly.”
- Tim Tarpley, President of the Energy Workforce & Technology Council, added, “We also urge Congress to work on passing comprehensive permitting reform as soon as possible. Permitting reform is necessary for developing upstream oil and gas projects, geological and geophysical surveying, and construction and operation of production facilities.”
Looking Ahead
Permitting roadblocks ensnare oil and natural gas production, LNG export facilities, and critical pipeline infrastructure in regulatory red tape, limiting America’s ability to supply reliable energy at home and to allies abroad. Momentum for permitting reform is growing in Congress, with broad support from energy producers, labor unions, and policymakers.
As hearings continue and legislation takes shape, there's potential for meaningful reforms that restore NEPA to its original purpose, accelerate energy development, and reduce unnecessary legal challenges. America’s workers, businesses, and consumers cannot afford to wait any longer.