Congress Urged to Rewrite NEPA as 26-Month Reviews Stall US Factory Building

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 24

Median NEPA reviews stretched to 26 months in 2024, with full environmental impact statements averaging 3.8 years, prompting a fresh push for Congress to overhaul federal permitting rules tied to manufacturing projects.
DOE data put average environmental assessment costs above $300,000 and environmental impact statements at $6.6 million, costs the report says can kill small factory, battery and defense-tech projects before they reach production.
The proposed fixes center on enforcing permitting deadlines, limiting post-permit litigation and requiring agencies to share categorical exclusions already allowed under a 2023 law to speed routine approvals.
America's share of global manufacturing output has fallen from 25% in 1997 to 15% today and could drop to 11% by 2030, a decline the report links to weaker supply security and lost industrial capacity.
Bipartisan Senate negotiators including Shelley Moore Capito, Mike Lee, Sheldon Whitehouse and Martin Heinrich are cited as working toward a deal, while recent executive actions and the Supreme Court's Seven County ruling are framed as insufficient without legislation.