Craig Stevens: Energy Security Requires Collaboration

An all-of-the-above approach to energy in this country will be the safest and most secure version of diversification for our nation’s future. Writing in the Grand Forks Herald, Craig Stevens, spokesman for GAIN and former senior adviser to U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman, recognizes that the only way this becomes a reality is through collaboration between public and private stakeholders.

Speaking with North Dakota Senators Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven, as well as Representative Kelly Armstrong, Stevens notes that one of the top priorities in D.C. currently is permitting reform. As Sen. Cramer put it, many of his colleagues on the left “have come to the realization” that “siting offshore wind farm is just as hard as siting an offshore oil rig and platform,” due to regulatory red tape. In discussions on the debt ceiling, Sen. Cramer expressed optimism that lawmakers could come to an agreement on common sense permitting reforms.

Sen. Cramer believes that modest proposal, such as “timelines for permitting and for environmental impact statements” is a good starting point for negotiations. Recently, Sen. Cramer joined Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) in introducing the Revitalizing the Economy by Simplifying Timelines and Assuring Regulatory Transparency (RESTART) Act. The RESTART Act would address those timeline concerns, and “impose a time limit to prevent delay-to-die legal battles by requiring courts to process NEPA challenges and issue judgments within 180 days.”

As the last year has shown, energy security is one of the main issues that effects Americans’ pocketbooks across the country. Being able to hear from one’s representatives firsthand is an important part in being able to hold them accountable an these issues. Stevens writes, “The Greater North Dakota Chamber event exemplifies the necessity of collaboration between public and private stakeholders when it comes to energy policy.”

Read the viewpoint here: Grand Forks Herald