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Climate & Environment · North America

More than 200 climate groups oppose Senate permitting bill

More than 200 environmental and climate organizations oppose the bipartisan Senate permitting bill known as BAAJA, according to the Washington Examiner. Former Biden administration official Jane Flegal said the bill is important for climate, highlighting a divide over the proposal.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 2 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 2 outletsHow it's made

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2 outletsLatest reporting 3 min read
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What happened

Key facts

  • The bipartisan Senate permitting bill is known as BAAJA (per Washington Examiner).
  • More than 200 environmental and climate organizations have publicly opposed the legislation (per Washington Examiner).
  • Flegal said she believes the bill is important for climate (per Washington Examiner).
  • Flegal said she was surprised that Democrats’ discussion of the bill focused on its emissions impact rather than affordability and other concerns (per Washington Examiner).
  • Flegal characterized the disagreement as a debate over whether permitting should be used to block fossil fuels (per Washington Examiner).
  • A bipartisan House caucus is weighing whether to support the Senate permitting bill (per bgov.com, Washington Examiner).

The brief

More than 200 environmental and climate organizations have publicly opposed the bipartisan Senate permitting bill known as BAAJA, while Jane Flegal, a former Biden administration official, has argued that the legislation is important for climate. The Washington Examiner reported that the dispute has left climate and environmental groups divided over the proposal.

The organizations opposing the bill object to proposed changes involving four federal laws: the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Policy Act. They have also criticized provisions concerning permit certainty, according to the Washington Examiner.

The outlet describes the text as a bipartisan permitting proposal released by Senate negotiators. Flegal, now a senior fellow at Searchlight Institute, said she was surprised that Democrats’ debate about the bill concentrated on its emissions effects rather than affordability or other considerations.

Her position places emphasis on concerns beyond emissions in evaluating the proposal; the organizations’ stated objections focus on the proposed legal changes and permit provisions.

Flegal also criticized climate organizations’ opposition, saying she did not think it was good that groups funded at a large scale to represent the public interest in climate were not supporting the legislation. That is her assessment of those organizations and their role, rather than a finding about their funding or the reasons for their positions.

She described the dispute as a question of whether Democrats should use the permitting system to block fossil fuels. The Washington Examiner reported this as Flegal’s characterization of the debate, alongside her view that the bill matters for climate. The organizations’ objections, as summarized by the outlet, concern specific provisions in the proposed legislation.

A separate headline from Bloomberg Government News says a bipartisan House caucus is weighing support for the Senate permitting bill. It identifies a further decision point in the bill’s consideration, but does not state what the caucus will decide.

The Washington Examiner says that Senate negotiators released the bill text four weeks before its account; it does not provide a calendar date for that release.

Why it matters

  • More than 200 environmental and climate organizations oppose BAAJA, putting their objections to four named environmental and historic-preservation laws at the center of the dispute.
  • The proposed permit-certainty provisions are another specific point of concern for the organizations opposing the bill.
  • Flegal argues that the debate should consider affordability and other concerns alongside emissions effects, broadening the criteria she says Democrats are weighing.
  • Flegal identifies a potential conflict between climate organizations’ public-interest role and their opposition, while describing that concern as her own assessment.

What to watch next

  • Whether the bipartisan House caucus backs the Senate permitting bill; Bloomberg Government News says it is weighing support.
  • Whether Senate negotiators’ BAAJA proposal advances, given the public opposition reported from more than 200 organizations.
  • Whether debate addresses opponents’ objections to the four named laws and permit-certainty provisions.
  • Whether Democrats’ discussion of the proposal takes up affordability and other concerns alongside emissions, as Flegal urged.

How it's being covered

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Where the outlets are based: US/Canada 50% · Unknown 50%
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Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The Federal Power Act, enacted in 1920, gave the federal government authority over interstate electricity transmission and wholesale power.
    Background · from our historical context
  2. The permitting system rests partly on the National Environmental Policy Act, signed by President Richard Nixon on January 1, 1970, which requires federal agencies to assess environmental effects of major actions.
    Background · from our historical context
  3. Congress enacted the Clean Water Act, establishing federal standards relevant to energy projects.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which included grid and clean-energy funding.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which created incentives for clean-energy investment.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. In September 2022, Manchin’s proposal to revise permitting rules was dropped from a government-funding bill after it failed to secure enough Senate support.
    Background · from our historical context
  7. In March 2023, the House passed the Lower Energy Costs Act, which included permitting provisions; the Senate did not take it up.
    Background · from our historical context
  8. Sen. Joe Manchin and Sen. John Barrasso introduced the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

The closest earlier congressional effort was the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, introduced in July by Sen. Joe Manchin, an independent, and Sen. John Barrasso, a Republican. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee advanced the measure on July 31, 2024, but the Senate rejected a motion to proceed on December 18, 2024, by a 47–52 vote.

In September 2022, Manchin’s proposal to revise permitting rules was dropped from a government-funding bill after it failed to secure enough Senate support. In March 2023, the House passed the Lower Energy Costs Act, which included permitting provisions; the Senate did not take it up.

Original sources

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