Richard Pombo: “H.R. 4513 expedites the development of renewable energy projects such as wind, tidal, solar, and geothermal by…”

“H.R. 4513 expedites the development of renewable energy projects such as wind, tidal, solar, and geothermal by streamlining, but not weakening, the environmental review process. The bill instructs the responsible agency to review and take public comment only on the most feasible project. Simplifying the process is necessary to incentivize participation in renewable energy projects which are economically marginal to start. The bottom line is that H.R. 4513 encourages developers to commit capital to renewable energy projects and puts the government in position to put that capital to work sooner. NEPA requires review of reasonable alternatives, and H.R. 4513 takes the intelligent step of defining 'reasonable' alternatives for renewable energy projects rather than having it defined through litigation, which those opposed to this bill may ultimately want to do. Since renewable energy projects are largely place-based, which means that they can only make use of the site where the resources are found, the only reasonable alternatives are, one, the proposed project, and, two, no action. This bill does nothing to change the requirement that a Federal agency follow the NEPA environmental review process, including mitigation. At the end of the NEPA process, if the agency is not satisfied that the project meets environmental requirements, then the agency official can deny the permit.”