For decades, New York has lived with the devastating consequences of poorly designed highway projects, which destroyed vibrant communities and exposed generations to toxic vehicle pollution – all because there was no process of environmental assessment to protect vulnerable communities.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have worked to heal these wounds through environmental justice initiatives. However, a dangerous bill threatens to repeat those mistakes by sacrificing predominantly black, brown, and low-income neighborhoods in favor of planet-warming fossil fuel production. Much to our concern, Schumer, Jeffries and other members of the New York delegation appear to be considering this.
The so-called Energy Licensing Reform Act of 2024, sponsored by Senators Joe Manchin and John Barrasso, is tempting members of Congress by promising tools to expand the electric transmission system. They see this expanded transmission capacity as essential for getting wind and solar power from where it’s produced to where it’s needed. However, the bill alarmingly reduces the reasonable amount of time affected communities have to learn about, review, and object to projects, including harmful fossil fuel projects.
The Manchin-Barrasso bill is a gift to fossil fuel companies. It would destroy community input and review of new fossil fuel infrastructure, reducing the statute of limitations for challenging permits from six years to just five months – a window so short that many affected communities and tribal nations could not even being informed in time of the existence of dangerous projects. The bill would also expedite the approval of seven pending liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects, sending massive amounts of U.S. gas overseas.
The economic burden of the Manchin-Barrasso bill would fall heavily on consumers. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has shown that increased natural gas exports lead to higher national energy costs, which would put a strain on all of us, especially low-income New Yorkers.
The bill would also have a devastating human cost. The seven LNG export projects underway are concentrated in communities of color in the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana, where cancer and asthma rates are already high. Pollution from these additional facilities will cause an estimated 2,500 additional deaths and $30 billion in health costs.
By requiring the Department of Energy to approve LNG export applications within 90 days – or automatically approve them – this bill automatically approves these projects, regardless of the public health consequences . The climate impacts would be equally catastrophic, with the LNG provisions alone generating annual emissions equivalent to 153 coal-fired power plants.
Nearly 700 consumer, legal and environmental organizations oppose the bill because it removes crucial safeguards that protect people from corporate excesses and environmental injustice. The bill would restrict the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which ensures that community voices are heard in federal decisions affecting their neighborhoods. NEPA currently protects communities from harmful planning projects, and research shows that proper community engagement actually reduces litigation related to clean energy projects, debunking industry claims that environmental reviews delay progress.
NEPA review has improved the quality of many projects that have shaped New York. Just think about congestion pricing. With NEPA review, New Yorkers can count on the project to deliver a $20 million asthma treatment center, electrification of the Hunts Point market, $10 million for new air filtration systems in affected schools along highways, $25 million to invest in much-needed parks and green spaces, and much more. Simply put, NEPA works and it should not be dismantled.
Fortunately, there are smarter, fairer alternatives to the Manchin-Barrasso bill. A Department of Energy analysis shows that advanced conductors and grid improvement tools could free up up to 100 gigawatts of system capacity, enough to meet electricity demand for the next decade. This approach buys time to advance long-term solutions like the Clean Electricity and Transmission Acceleration Act, which supports clean energy infrastructure while protecting community input and environmental justice.
Both Schumer and Jeffries have a long-standing commitment to healing the wounds of New York’s past, which should continue to guide them in protecting frontline communities, public health and our climate future. Schumer and Jeffries must reject the Manchin-Barrasso bill and champion equitable clean energy solutions that unite us rather than divide us. The stakes are too high to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Horner is the executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG). Shepard is co-founder and executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice.
