FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2024
Press Contact: Maria Langholz, maria@team-arc.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is set to vote on the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, introduced by Sen. Manchin (I-WV) and Sen. Barrasso (R-WY). This bill is a blatant effort to cater to the fossil fuel industry’s demands, as outlined in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, while masquerading as a measure to advance renewable energy and transmission infrastructure development.
Ahead of the expected vote, environmental justice leaders issued the following statements. All leaders quoted below are available for an interview. Please email maria@team-arc.com if you want to be put in touch.
Dr. Bob Bullard, Director of the Bullard Center for Environmental Justice at Texas Southern University: “It would be a colossal mistake for the US Senate to pass this so-called permitting reform bill. While it contains some important provisions to accelerate the deployment of needed clean energy and transmission infrastructure, at the same time, it contains a giant giveaway to the fossil fuel industry to keep doing what got us into this environmental and climate crisis. Rolling back environmental and legal protections will hurt our most vulnerable populations and communities and is a step backward in our quest for communities to achieve environmental, climate, energy, and health justice.”
Dr. Beverly Wright, Founder & Executive Director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, New Orleans, Louisiana: “Louisiana communities pay the price for this kind of legislation that puts oil and gas polluters over people, as called for in Project 2025. Justice delayed is justice denied and this bill by Senators Manchin and Barrasso is designed to do both. It would delay our transition to an equitable and renewable energy economy and deny our rights to restore communities and build sustainable livelihoods. We urge President Biden to dump this bill which threatens the progress made toward advancing environmental and climate justice.”
Richard Moore, Co-Coordinator of Los Jardines Institute and Co-Chair of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council: “Dirty industries have long put their profits over our communities. The Manchin-Barrasso permitting bill may have a new name, but it’s the same old polluter priorities that will silence our voices and undercut our efforts to advance environmental justice. Communities like mine need real solutions like the Environmental Justice for All Act to help give us a voice in the projects built in our neighborhoods, hold bad actors accountable, and incorporate environmental justice concerns into the project decision-making process.”
Peggy Shepard, Co-Founder and Executive Director at WE ACT for Environmental Justice: “We need a permitting process that protects public health, especially of communities of color and of low-income who bear the brunt of pollution and the disproportionate impacts of the climate crisis. This legislation fails to do that. It aims to make it easier for the fossil fuel industry to continue polluting our communities. And transmission buildout is critical for the clean energy transition, but must never be done at the expense of communities. A better pathway is possible, one that secures a just transition and safeguards the most vulnerable communities.
