Manchin's energy-permit deal falls through, for now, but bipartisan compromise with W.Va. seatmate seems possible

Manchin chairs Senate Energy Committee.
(Photo by Shuran Huang, Washington Post)

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin's gambit to speed energy-projects permitting, especially for the Mountain Valley Pipeline for natural gas, was derailed by an unusual alliance of fellow Democrats who didn't like the idea and Republicans mad at him for supporting Democrats' tax-and-climate bill -- something he did in return for a later vote on his measure, which couldn't fit into the bill under Senate rules.

Manchin wanted the measure in the latest must-pass spending bill to keep the government open, but Republicans stiffed him and supported a measure offered by his Republican seatmate, Shelley Moore Capito. Manchin said after withdrawing his measure Tuesday that he had already spoken to Capito and Republican leaders about getting something into another bill when Congress reconvenes after the Nov. 8 midterm elections.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called Manchin's legislation a “huge giveaway to the fossil fuel industry,” but The Washington Post editorial board said it is needed to speed construction of new power lines "to transition rapidly off greenhouse-gas-heavy fossil fuels and onto renewables. Aside from more solar panels and wind turbines, perhaps the greatest need is transmission . . . The sun does not shine and the wind does not blow everywhere at the same time. A grid packed with renewables will require transmission lines to zip electricity from the places where weather conditions are favorable to the places people live. Moreover, electricity will have to replace gasoline as the fuel for the nation’s cars and trucks, power heat pumps and water heaters in people’s homes, and run the stoves that will replace natural gas ranges, which means the nation will need more of it — and more wires to move it around the country." The Washington Monthly said much the same.

Manchin could still finish the job, if he and Capito can strike a deal, write Burgess Everett, Josh Siegel and Zack Colman of Politico. Capito told them, “This issue is so important that, I think, getting people to the table, we can forge a bipartisan compromise.” Politico reports, "Thus far Republicans have preferred bypassing more environmental regulations than Democrats can stomach in an energy permitting overhaul. But Democrats don’t see the gap as unbridgeable." Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said, “Senator Capito has a history of doing bipartisan deals.”

Another Democratic point person could be Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, the other state through which the Mountain Valley Pipeline would pass. "Kaine has proposed legislation that would require notification to landowners of potential pipeline projects that would affect their properties and an explanation to them of how they can participate in the approvals process," report Katy Stech Ferek and Natalie Andrews of The Wall Street Journal.

UPDATE, Sept. 30: The Brookings Institution has a policy brief on clean-energy permitting.