Energy & Environment — Senate rejects Manchin permitting amendment

by Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk - 12/15/22 7:22 PM ET

The Senate has spurned Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) in his latest attempt to reform the energy approval process. Meanwhile, Western states are taking water-saving measures amid a continuing drought.

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Permitting reform won’t be in defense spending bill

The Senate has bucked Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) latest effort to get his energy deal with Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) attached to must-pass legislation.

The chamber blocked Manchin’s permitting reform amendment from getting onto a defense funding bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act in an 47-47 vote. Sixty votes were needed to advance the measure.

Schumer had promised Manchin he would take up legislation to speed the process for approving new U.S. energy projects in exchange for Manchin’s vote on the Democrats’ major climate, health and tax bill.

Manchin’s permitting reform effort was expected to help advance both fossil and renewable energy projects, though has generated pushback from both sides of the aisle.

The measure was widely expected to fail on Thursday, but the vote provides Manchin a headcount as he is expected to continue pushing for a compromise deal.
The legislation faced opposition from the left, over concerns about potential hampering of community involvement in environmental reviews and fossil fuels generally. Meanwhile, Republican opponents argued that it did not go far enough.
A handful of Democrats voted against the measure, while a handful of Republicans voted for it.

Four Western states launch water cutback program

Four states in the upper basin of the Colorado River this week announced a program through the Upper Colorado River Basin Commission to temporarily conserve water from the over-leveraged river as the West weathers a historic drought.

The plan, unveiled by representatives of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming Wednesday, would subsidize users of river water to voluntarily cut back on their use.

The details:

The pilot program would pay participating users at least $150 per acre-foot of water conserved.
The System Conservation Pilot Program (SCPP) is tentatively set to begin next April, with $125 million in funds provided by the Inflation Reduction Act.
The voluntary program announced does not include a specific target.

The background: The announcement comes as the western U.S. has struggled with the impact of the 20-year drought on the Colorado River.

Use of the river’s waters is governed by a century-old interstate agreement that allocates more water than currently flows through it. Shortages in the river basin have led to dramatically receding water levels in two of the nation’s biggest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, threatening the hydroelectricity they generate.