WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) voted to support the Energy Permitting Reform Act which passed in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. 

“The United States, and particularly Idaho, is well equipped with the natural resources and critical minerals to power our every day needs. For far too long, these resources have been tied up behind red tape and burdensome permitting regulations, impeding our ability to become energy independent,”said Risch. “I am pleased to see the Energy and Natural Resources Committee reach an agreement on permitting reform legislation today, which will fix the misguided Rosemont decision, streamline geothermal permitting, reverse the Biden administration’s LNG export ban, and much more.”

Senator Risch secured a number of priorities important to the State of Idaho, including:

• Protecting critical mineral projects in Idaho and the West with his Mining Regulatory Clarity Act to reverse the misguided Rosemont decision;

• Accelerating the adoption of geothermal energy nationwide by streamlining the leasing and permitting processes with provisions from his GEO Act;

• Boosting American energy independence by putting an end to Biden’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export ban;

• Improving oil and gas lease sales to tap into natural resources on federal lands;

• Safeguarding transmission lines to improve reliability for customers; and

• Protecting hydropower as a reliable, renewable energy source. 

Senator Risch also received a commitment from Chairman Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) to consider legislation in September to delay the unwanted and unnecessary Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project in southern Idaho.

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