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参议院快速推进能源项目计划将面临摊牌Senate Plan to Fast-Track Energy Projects Headed for a Showdown

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在犹他州伊格尔山一处新数据中心施工现场,工人们正在为一座在建的变电站铺设管道。摄影师:乔治·弗雷/彭博社Workers run pipe to an electrical substation under construction at the site of a new data center in Eagle Mountain, Utah. Photographer: George Frey/Bloomberg

经过十多年的多次夭折,华盛顿的立法者们即将推进一项法案,旨在改革批准项目的繁杂体系,这些项目用于现代化电网、建设人工智能数据中心以及振兴清洁能源开发。

After more than a decade of false starts, lawmakers in Washington are on the cusp of advancing a bill to reform the Byzantine system for approving projects needed to modernize power grids, build artificial intelligence data centers and revitalize clean energy development.

然而,民主党在中期选举中的全面胜利,却给这一努力扔进了一个扳手(注:意指制造了麻烦/阻碍)。

The Democrats’ sweeping victories in the midterm elections, however, has tossed a wrench into the effort.

参议员们现在正在努力维护一项经过数月艰苦谈判达成的两党许可改革协议,该法案的程序性投票定于周一举行。国会只有两个月的短暂时间来通过该计划,该计划将彻底改变包括管道、输电线路以及太阳能和风力发电场在内的项目的审批方式。

Senators are now fighting to preserve a bipartisan permitting reform deal reached after months of painstaking negotiations, with a procedural vote on the bill set for Monday. Congress has two short months to pass the plan, which overhauls how projects including pipelines, power lines and solar and wind farms are approved.

众议院少数党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯反对该法案的现行形式,理由是它未能获得众议院民主党人的足够意见输入。其他进步派民主党人表示,他们明年应利用新获得的国会控制权,争取达成一项更好的协议。该立法还面临着来自美洲原住民部落和环保团体日益高涨的反对。

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is opposing the bill in its current form, arguing it hasn’t received enough input from House Democrats. Other progressive Democrats say they should use their newfound control of Congress next year to negotiate for a better deal. The legislation is also facing mounting opposition from Native American tribes and environmental groups.

“前路变得更难了,”曾为前参议院多数党领袖哈里·里德及其他议员工作过的民主党策略师克里斯·莫耶说。“每两年,掌权的那个党派都会说,让我们再等等,争取个更好的交易。” 解决许可制度问题是唐纳德·特朗普总统政府的首要任务之一。能源行业长期以来一直抱怨美国的监管障碍,这些障碍会给可再生能源以及石油和天然气项目平添数年的繁文缛节延误和数百万美元的成本。改革呼声已存在十多年,但进展甚微。

“The path to this has gotten more difficult,” said Chris Moyer, a Democratic strategist who has worked for former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other lawmakers. “Every two years the party that takes power says let’s hold off for a better deal.”Addressing the permitting system is a top priority for President Donald Trump’s administration. The energy industry has long complained about the regulatory hurdles in the US, which can add years of red tape delays and millions of dollars to renewable power and oil and gas projects alike. Reform has been floated for more than a decade, but there’s been little progress.

众议院少数党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯Minority House Leader Hakeem Jeffries

最新的立法努力旨在解决政府审批流程缓慢且重叠的问题,但反对者称该法案取消了至关重要的环境保障措施。该法案将对《国家环境政策法》下的政府审批设定期限,并修改环保主义者视为神圣不可侵犯的其他法律。

The latest effort aims to address government reviews that are slow and overlapping, but opponents say it does away with crucial environmental safeguards. The bill would impose deadlines on government reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act and changes other laws considered sacrosanct by environmentalists.

罗德岛州民主党参议员谢尔登·怀特豪斯主导了该协议的谈判。他是参议院环境委员会的民主党首席议员,其选区拥有一个大型海上风电项目。他在一份声明中说:“一项好的许可法案需要经过多年的复杂谈判才能成型。清洁能源项目搁置在一旁,我们没有更多年头可输了。”据《国会山报》报道,杰弗里斯通过发言人表示,他反对目前起草的该计划,若没有众议院民主党核心小组更多的参与,他“不会盖章通过参议院产出的立法”。

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, led negotiations on the deal. He is the top Democrat on the Senate environment committee and his constituency is home to a major offshore wind project. He said input on the bill has already been solicited from House members and the bill’s authors on Saturday released an amendment designed to address concerns they raised. “A good permitting bill comes together over years of complex negotiations,” Whitehouse said in a statement. “We don’t have more years to lose as clean energy projects sit on the sidelines.”Jeffries said through a spokesman he is opposed to the plan as drafted and would “not rubber-stamp legislation that emerges from the Senate” without more involvement from the Democratic House caucus, according to Politico.

参议员谢尔登·怀特豪斯一直在主导有关许可改革立法的谈判。Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has been steering talks on permitting reform legislation.

投资银行TD Cowen在大选次日致客户的一份备忘录中表示,他们将该法案在跛脚鸭会议期间通过的可能性从40%下调至25%,理由是该法案可能会鼓舞那些认为法案向石油天然气行业做出过多让步的人士的声音。

TD Cowen, in a note to clients the morning after election day, said they were reducing the likelihood of lame duck passage of the bill from 40% to 25%, on grounds it likely emboldens voices arguing that the bill gives too many concessions to the oil and gas industry.

在国会为期一个月的中期选举休会前,民主党参议员怀特豪斯和新墨西哥州的马丁·海因里希,以及共和党参议员西弗吉尼亚州的雪莱·摩尔·卡皮托和犹他州的迈克·李共同公布了这份长达417页的草案。

Democratic Senators Whitehouse and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, as well as Republican Senators Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Mike Lee of Utah unveiled the 417-page draft before Congress took a monthlong break for the midterm elections.

该措施的支持者范围广泛,从美国石油学会到美国清洁能源协会,后者赞扬法案中将使高压输电线路建设更容易的条款。

Backers of the measure range from the American Petroleum Institute and the American Clean Power Association, which has lauded language in the bill that would make it easier to build high-voltage power lines.

但反对者担心,这可能会损害美洲原住民部落的主权,并造成持久的环境破坏。

But opponents fear it could undermine sovereignty of Native American tribes and cause lasting environmental damage.

“按目前的起草情况,该法案将把更多权力交给行政部门,侵蚀民主规范,并对我们的水资源、野生动物以及公共健康保护造成环境危害,其影响远远超出联邦许可的范围,”塞拉俱乐部执行主任洛伦·布莱克福德周五在一份声明中说。

“As currently drafted, this bill will hand more power to the executive branch, erode democratic norms, and cause environmental harm to our water, wildlife, and public health protections far beyond the scope of federal permitting,” Loren Blackford, executive director of the Sierra Club, said in a statement on Friday.

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