Trump-approved energy projects at risk of sudden death by next hostile president

CEI’s Daren Bakst was cited by Fox News Digital regarding the EPA.

Congress is also considering a more permanent solution. Last December, the House passed the PERMIT Act, which would limit when EPA can use its Section 404(c) veto power. Under the bill, the agency could use the authority only after a complete permit application is submitted and before the permit is issued. But the legislation has since stalled in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Daren Bakst, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment, told Fox News Digital that congressional action would provide the strongest protection but argued that the administration should also examine what EPA can accomplish under existing law.

“Ultimately, Congress really has to do something here, but you got to work multiple angles, and you have to walk and chew gum at the same time,” Bakst said.

Bakst said an executive order from Trump highlighting the issue could pressure EPA to pursue a durable administrative solution while signaling to lawmakers that the Section 404(c) provision should be addressed in broader permitting legislation.

“If President Trump issued the executive order, it might help provide a real signal of the importance that the administration places on having such a 404(c) veto issue included into the permitting reform package,” Bakst said.

Bakst cautioned that it remains legally uncertain whether EPA could categorically prohibit all retroactive vetoes through regulation. But he said the agency could impose constraints, including requiring officials to consider costs imposed on permit holders and their reliance on previously issued permits.

“The reliance, the consideration, the cost, and the reliance interests of the permit holder are certainly things that [EPA] can make it very clear have to be considered,” Bakst said.

Read the full article at Fox News Digital.