Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Alan Armstrong says it’s not always the federal government that’s getting in the way of “permitting” for expanded oil and gas operations in the U.S. Not always the courts. Not always environmentalists. Sometimes, it’s the states.
As he continues pressing the issue of energy permitting reform as a number one goal in his short term as a U.S. Senator who replaced Markwayne Mullin when he was named Homeland Security Secretary, Armstrong joined David From on the American Potential Podcast and talked about energy and his mission in the Senate to help American producers build and grow the U.S. energy supply.
“You know, the single most weaponized tool out there to stop a project these days, surprisingly, is the 401 water quality certificate that is issued by states. And most of these big, long haul interstate projects are going across multiple states. Sometimes there’s a lot of benefit in that particular state for the project and sometimes there’s not,” answered Armstrong when asked what the number one roadblock for energy was permitting.
“And so, if you go and look at all the major big lens energy infrastructure projects that have been stopped, it has been stopped by the 401 water quality certificate. And so, boy is this nerdy, you know? I mean, imagine trying to get people to understand that. But if you don’t fix that problem, and believe me, I could go a lot deeper on this, but if you don’t if you don’t fix that problem, you’re going to continue to have a country that finds it very difficult to build interstate infrastructure across our nation to move energy from where it’s abundant and available to areas where it’s constrained.”
As an example, Armstrong said New England sits 120 miles away from some of the lowest price natural gas in the entire world and yet during the wintertime, it pays some of the very highest prices in the world for natural gas.
“—because a 120-mile pipeline across the state of New York can’t be built because New York doesn’t see a whole lot of benefit into that for them.”
Armstrong says he’s learned in his short time as a U.S. Senator that it’s not always bureaucratic red tape or litigation that slows down big energy projects.
“The problem is because the judicial reform in there lets anybody and everybody file a suit and stop a project. That gives a lot of leverage to the to the judicial process and so putting some judicial reform that puts limits on who can actually file suit and what the remedy is for those suits.”
Armstrong said permitting reform might not be accomplished during his short time in office and also, it’s an issue that cannot be resolved by “putting patches on it.” Getting the entire Senate to understand the often-times complicated energy projects is a challenge at best. It’s not a “hot political issue” and cannot be solved by a snap of your fingers.
But he pointed out that Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Bergum have been particularly helpful because both have experienced the abuse from the 401 water quality certificate.
Armstrong pointed to another example of permitting challenges, explaining how Williams Cos. a few years ago, completed a $1 billion pipeline moving gas out of Pennsylvania into New Jersey.
“Project got built. It was, you know, a great feat by the permitting teams to work with the states, work with local landowners, work with school boards that were going to benefit from the ad valorum tax, worked with the unions to have them bringing their voice to the table. So, really great grassroots effort to get that project permitted. It got permitted. It was up and running. It was running at near full load during the middle of the winter, and a federal court came out and vacated the certificate. And said you can no longer operate because the certificate was not issued correctly.”
Armstrong, appointed by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said he would be “very disappointed” if he spends his time in the Senate and doesn’t get something done about permitting. He also admits he is thankful to have the benefit of being very narrowly focused on the issue and does not face a campaign to run nor have any political ambitions beyond his expected short time as a U.S. Senator.
Watch the full podcast episode here.
The American Potential Podcast describes itself as featuring the real-life stories of Americans who are stepping up and taking action to make their communities better and our nation stronger. Host David From, who serves as Regional Vice President of Americans for Prosperity, has extensive experience in public policy and advocacy, and is committed to highlighting stories of individuals and communities breaking barriers and creating positive change across the country.
