Congresswoman Kristi Noem’s Weekly Column: Rapid Recovery

Rapid Recovery
By Rep. Kristi Noem
September 25, 2015

It took five years to build the Hoover Dam; four years to erect the Golden Gate Bridge; 13 months to construct the Empire State Building; but in some cases, more than a decade to get a building permit approved by the federal government.  This is outrageous.

According to a 2010 study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 351 energy projects were stalled nationwide that would have had a total economic value of $1 trillion and represented 1.9 million American jobs.  Even in South Dakota, the impacts are being felt.  The same study found that delays pushed $500 million of economic output and 2,600 jobs down the road in South Dakota specifically.

It’s no secret that the Keystone XL Pipeline was one of the projects the federal government has been working hard to delay.  This pipeline has been on the list for a number of years.  In fact, while the builders first submitted permit applications in September 2008, it took until 2014 for the U.S. State Department to issue its final Environmental Impact Statement, which is just one step in the federal permitting process.

This is a system that is broken – and it’s costing families and local communities jobs, economic opportunities, and money.  On September 25, I helped move forward H.R.348 – also known as the RAPID Act.  This bipartisan legislation streamlines the environmental permitting and approval process to be sure builders, developers, and others get an answer from federal bureaucrats in a timely and efficient manner.

We do this by improving coordination between federal agencies, allowing for simultaneous reviews, avoiding duplication of state and federal efforts, and putting the federal government on a timeline that better serves the people.  Moreover, to help eliminate frivolous lawsuits, we reduce the statute of limitations to challenge a final Environmental Impact Statement or Environmental Assessment from six years to six months.

It’s unacceptable that federal agencies manipulate the system to slow down critical energy projects that could bring cost savings – and in some cases, greater security – to the American people.  The RAPID Act would help to remedy that.

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