Green Favorites

Some environmental projects are more equal than others:

The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has just finished what's being described as a "rule change" that will remove many delays and "streamline" the permitting process for energy projects. But there's a catch. The new rules will only apply to projects that "help the environment." In other words, just wind and solar projects favored by the Biden administration. Fossil fuel projects will remain bogged down in lawsuits as they are today. But can the White House even do this legally? (Institute for Energy Research) The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) finalized a rule changing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to streamline permitting for infrastructure for renewable energy and transmission projects. NEPA, a 1969 law that requires environmental reviews for major projects, is a frequent focus of litigation that can delay construction for years. According to Biden’s CEQ, the Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule will facilitate agencies moving faster on permits for infrastructure that can help the environment, thus ruling out fossil fuel projects which supply about 80 percent of the nation’s total energy. The rule sets deadlines and page limits for environmental reviews and establishes one lead agency to handle such reviews. As part of the rule’s review process, climate impacts have to be considered as well as environmental justice — the movement to assist disadvantaged areas — and outreach to those places must be conducted. This streamlining will take the form of deadlines for the completion of environmental inspections and restrictions on the length of completed inspection reports. The new rules also hilariously require considerations of "environmental justice." In other words, the project will need to address what impact it might have on lower-income minority communities. But if you're looking to put up your next gigantic wind farm in a more affluent, primarily white community, be their guest. Don't worry about informing the locals.

Green energy will be used where it's most convenient...