Senate negotiators reached a bipartisan permitting deal Monday that would radically shrink the window for environmental lawsuits — cutting the timeline from six years to just 150 days for opponents to challenge major energy projects.
The deal could finally break the stranglehold that endless litigation has held over American energy infrastructure.
Republican West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said lawmakers aim to release the bill text this week. But a vote is unlikely before the Senate breaks for the midterm elections.
“We are running out of time” before the recess, Capito told Politico.
“We have reached a deal on text.”
The 150-day deadline would apply to lawsuits filed under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and related federal laws governing environmental and historic reviews. Currently, completed NEPA reviews can face legal challenges for up to six years under default federal law — a timeline that has allowed activist groups to tie up projects in court for years.
Data from the Breakthrough Institute shows NEPA lawsuits delayed energy projects by an average of 3.9 years from 2013 to 2022. Federal agencies won 71% of those cases — meaning the delays often served no purpose beyond obstruction.
The research found that nongovernmental organizations filed 74 percent of energy-related NEPA cases. Just 10 organizations accounted for nearly half of all the lawsuits.
The bill would also bar the executive branch from revoking permits except in limited cases and narrow when states can block projects under the Clean Water Act, according to Politico reporting.
Republican South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the Senate majority leader, said Sept. 24 that Republicans and the White House had “closed the deal” on legislation that “incorporated essentially all” of Democrats’ asks.
President Trump offered to ease his administration’s holdup of wind and solar projects to win Democratic support. The deal would allow about 30 of roughly 300 wind projects awaiting Pentagon clearance to move forward, Bloomberg reported Sept. 23.
Democratic Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said Democrats still want clarity on how the Trump administration would handle wind and solar approvals going forward.
“[We need] more clarity from the Trump administration on what their return to regular order means,” Whitehouse told Politico.
The legislation is also expected to ease the siting of interstate power lines and end the Energy Department’s role as a national transmission planner. Under the bill, customers would pay for a new transmission line only if they actually benefit from it.
The House passed a 150-day limit in December 2025 as part of the SPEED Act from Republican Arkansas Rep. Bruce Westerman and Democratic Maine Rep. Jared Golden. The Congressional Progressive Caucus opposed that bill, calling the 150-day window “unreasonably short.”
The Senate is not scheduled to return until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The bill would need to pass both chambers and be signed by President Trump to become law.
Senate Republicans want to get America building again.
A more efficient permitting system with less red tape will lower building costs and bring down prices. https://t.co/ZFxJ90Qbfb
— Senate Republicans (@SenateGOP) September 22, 2026
