WASHINGTON – U.S. U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ranking Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, issued the following statement after proposing changes to Senator Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) “permitting reform” legislation:

“A pipeline for a pipeline. If Senator Manchin and his Democrat colleagues want to get to yes, it requires input from everyone, not a backroom take-it-or-leave-it proposal. The national significance of the Mountain Valley Pipeline applies to DAPL as well.

“Aspirational timelines do not motivate federal bureaucrats or curb the zeal of environmental litigants. We need a ‘shot clock’ for permit approvals which automatically defaults to the applicant within the one- or two-year timeframe outlined in the bill.

“If Joe Manchin and his Democrat colleagues want me to get to yes, let’s scrap these proposals to overrun state siting authority, give the timelines some teeth, and treat DAPL the same as the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Let’s make a deal.”

Senator Cramer proposed the following amendments:

  • Approving the existing Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Dakota Access Pipeline and explicitly states an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required nor is the EA subject to judicial review;
  • Establishing a shot clock for infrastructure permits. If a project is not approved within the 1-year and 2-year timeframe, the project is deemed approved; and
  • Striking the transmission siting section of the bill.