Senate Unveils Bipartisan Permitting Reform Bill, S. 5653
S. 5653 would rewrite NEPA, Clean Water Act and ESA review, impose 150-day permit litigation deadlines, expand FERC transmission siting power and add data-center cost rules, with Senate floor votes expected in November.
On September 30, 2026, Senate EPW and ENR leaders introduced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (S. 5653), a two-division permitting package spanning environmental and energy statutes, with floor consideration expected in November and uncertain House prospects.
Division A is the more consequential for environmental counsel: it narrows "major federal action," expands categorical exclusions and reliance on state, tribal and federal reviews, sets one-year EA and two-year EIS deadlines, and adds CEQ dispute resolution. Judicial review is rewritten around a 150-day statute of limitations, participation requirements, direct appellate review and remand-without-vacatur as the default remedy. Clean Water Act changes limit Section 401 to water quality, put a clear-and-convincing burden on denials, cut interstate gas and transmission certification to nine months, extend nationwide permits to ten years, and curb EPA's Section 404(c) veto. ESA consultations drop to 60 days, states may assume Section 7 work, and $150 million annually funds implementation.
Division B expands FERC siting authority after one year of state inaction, adds reconductoring categorical exclusions, requires computational loads of 20 MW or more to bear embedded and incremental costs with financial assurances, and reforms leasing, geothermal and hardrock mining.
Watch Senate floor timing, the House Rules path, and client exposure inventories across NEPA, CWA and ESA dockets.