2L at Michigan. Born and raised Michigander and soon-to-be litigator. I write and think a lot about energy, infrastructure, and the regulation of both. #GoBlue
Ann Arbor, MI
Joined October 2011
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The Senate votes Monday on taking up BAAJA, the bipartisan permitting bill. 18 senators are on record, none opposed, and 82 haven't said a word.
I built a tracker of every senator, House member, and outside group on the bill, with links to what each actually said. Link below!
At some point we would benefit from our discourse not being this lazy. Oh no, a bad person likes something. Clearly that means it's bad.
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Again, I would like to see people doing this "we can just write and pass a perfect bill" 2 step to
1 - write a bill
2 - show us how they can get it passed in Congress
Permitting reform can bring American families cleaner and more affordable energy, but I believe it can be done without weakening environmental protections or our relationships with Indigenous communities.
This bill does not stop the Trump regime from stacking the deck for fossil energy at the expense of renewable energy development.
While I will evaluate any changes made as discussions continue, I do not support the bill in its current form.
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Happy Veterans Day to all who served!
I am proud to be the son of a veteran. Here's my dad swearing someone in at a reenlistment ceremony on the East German border in 1986.
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I don't expect much policy nuance from representative Tlaib, but watching her basically lie about the bill is quite depressing.
U-M shamefully wants to build a $1.25 billion data center on Native burial grounds–but the National Historic Preservation Act protects these lands.
The permitting reform bill advanced by the Senate last night will strip many of those protections, fast tracking approvals of data centers and fossil fuel pipelines.
freep.com/story/news/environ…
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substack.com/home/post/p-222…
I've updated my piece on BAAJA and data centers reflecting the changes brought in my the manager's amendment.
In short: it is impossible to say with a straight face that this bill is anything but incredibly hard on data centers.
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"a certain kind of environmentalist will tell you we have ten years to decarbonize and then defend a review process that uses seven of them."
I'd like to see one of these "BAAJA guts environmental laws" people actually grapple with the fact that BAAJA doesn't change any of the substantive protections of any of the environmental laws or any of the consultation requirements. It just shortens the six years you had to sue.
Senate voted 73-25 to advance the bad #BAAJA bill, on to debate how to gut bedrock environmental and cultural protection laws
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It's difficult to understate how dishonest or uninformed you have to be to argue the bill is a data center giveaway.
This quoted post is unavailable.
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I think the margin in the Senate (72-25) makes it hard to whip against. We already have eight Democratic representatives who are on record saying they will probably be voting for the bill.
If Jeffries, whose opposed the bill, whips against it, the math looks a *lot* harder for BAAJA in The wake of possible low attendance from lame duck republicans, as well as a hegseth impeachment clogging things up
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Granholm's reelection in 2006 was the first big election I cared about as a kid, and my dad's service to Granholm coordinating alternative energy investments in Michigan is what got me interested in this space many years ago. I'm glad to see Granholm still knows ball.
NEWS: Former Biden Energy @SecGranholm has drafted a statement shared w/me urging Dems to back BAAJA, saying changes "respond directly to concerns" the bill "could weaken env enforcement, undermine Tribal consultation, and constrain state authority to protect water quality."
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In other words: we recognize the need for it, but that doesn't mean we'll ever be willing to do it!
NEW: @NRDC says BAAJA "still needs improvements" and opposes it despite changes. President Manish Bapna says "we recognize that meaningful permitting reform requires compromise" but the bill "goes too far in weakening essential environmental safeguards and public participation"
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It remains quite telling that opponents of BAAJA cannot write a bill that does the things Green Energy wants and that can get passed by Congress. "a clean transmission bill" would mean cutting out most of the things *we* want!
I will be interested to see if the amendment kills the "data center giveaway" narrative. The weakest part of the original text was that it grandfathered in data centers already built. The amendment fixes that.
Major changes to BAAJA in this amendment responding to Democrats' concerns; two highlight titles:
1. Permit Certainty title has lots of technical fixes:
-Requires proof of government bad faith before an energy project can get damages (easy to prove with Trump, hard to use against a future lawful admin)
-10-year baseline of past projects rather than 5 years (so Trump anti-wind actions aren't built into the baseline)
-Ability for the government to rebut with lawful reasons (helps a future admin could deny polluting projects lawfully)
2. Historic Preservation title has substantive changes:
-Feds can no longer take over a noncompliant Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO)
-Even if a THPO isn't compliant with deadlines, agencies still required to consult with Tribes
-Expanded requirements to consult and incorporate feedback from THPOs, Tribes, local govs, State Historic Preservation Offices
-Protections for Tribal historic database information to remain confidential to Tribes
-No more requirement for THPOs and SHPOs to spend 50% of their time on a project if they miss its deadline
-Extra more time to object to a historic preservation report
-Federal Highway projects always subject to historic preservation, even if only a formula grant
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Big deal! I'll have a piece analyzing the changes and how they try to accommodate critics of the bill out soon!
NEW: the BAAJA managers' amendment is out. “I’ve worked hard to incorporate the feedback we’ve heard from Tribes and New Mexicans into this Substitute Amendment, and I’m proud to join my colleagues in releasing it," Heinrich says. 494 pages heinrich.senate.gov/imo/medi…
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I think opponents of BAAJA would help the discourse by proposing another bill, one they claim will
1. Get the gop votes needed
2. Deliver the benefits of BAAJA
3. Reduce the downsides of BAAJA
I find it quite telling that nobody I've seen has even tried to do this.
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For example here, SC simply identifies the things they don't like. They don't even try to say why these changes wont truly harm the bill's goals or how to keep republicans on board. It's silly "we can't support as is" and a list of dislikes. Unhelpful!
xitter.twitterapi.xyz/sierraclub/status/2118…
This week’s overwhelming blue wave election sent a clear message: Americans are fed up with an administration that raises costs through chaotic energy policies and puts corporate polluters ahead of the public interest.
As the Senate considers a possible vote during the lame-duck session, Congressional Democrats have a mandate to deliver relief on energy bills and level the playing field for clean energy.
As written, this bill achieves critical wins on transmission and potential emissions reduction. But those wins do not justify abandoning Tribal consultation, clean water safeguards, and wildlife protections, nor further enabling a rogue president that is waging a war on clean energy.
The Sierra Club supports updating and expediting clean energy permitting. But Congress must demand fundamental changes to protect public health, Tribal sovereignty, the environment, and communities’ ability to challenge unlawful projects.
As Sierra Club Executive Director Loren Blackford said, “They can and must fight for a better deal.”
Read the full statement: bit.ly/4fa7IUv
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