Good morning. The committee will come to order. We were hoping to be able to move out two of our nominees that are currently pending before the committee. We obviously have to have the requisite number of members here. So, until such time as we have a quorum, we will move to our scheduled full Committee Hearing on infrastructure permitting. If we are able to get the quorum of 12, we will take up the business meeting at that point in time. I would anticipate that it would be relatively quick. So, with that, we have names on the table in front of us, but i would invite you each to come to the table as i provide an opening statement. Mr. Cason, miss fleeingal, mr. Turpin, mr. Brown, caruso and russell. Were here to discuss infrastructure permitting challenges, efforts to streamline federal approvals and opportunities to improve their responsiveness, the transparency and predictability of our system of permit review. I think we all recognize the need to make investments that will both upgrade and modernize our infrastructure. We have had hearings in the committee, many hearings, to look specifically at the needs in the energy and resource sectors. As we discuss energy infrastructure, i think its important to take steps to rationalize how projects are reviewed and approved. The existing Regulatory Regime impacts the cost effectiveness of our federal infrastructure spending. Beyond that, the length and uncertainty associated with permitting process limits the willingness of the private sector to finance, build and operate energy infrastructure. This drives dollars overseas rather than into jobs and growth and prosperity for our nation. So whether we are talking about a pipeline, a mine, power plant. Publicprivate partnership for a Company Building a water factory. We know the capital is delayed often by years and sometimes deliberately. When investment is impeded, how can we expect capital to be deployed where an Environmental Impact statement alone averages five years and final approval can take a decade or more. Canada and germany are moving similar projects in just a few years. I look forward to hearing from federal witnesses who are working to make our system work better and hearing about the permitting reforms of fast 41 which was enacted roughly two years ago and how they are being implemented. I am pleased to have three nonfederal witnesses who have experience. They might say perhaps too long of an experience, navigating the federal permitting guideline for electric transmission, hydro power and mining projects. New and upgraded transmission lines are crucial to a reliable and secure electric grid and to bring new sources of energy to our markets. Despite that, the number of federal, state and local agencies involved in a single project makes permitting notoriously cumbersome. Weve spoken at length in this committee about the challenges of licensing and relicensing hydro facilitates. When i tell people about the time involved in a relicense, its almost breathtaking. The need to fix the process before the number of projects up for relicensing increases dramatically over the next decade. Finally, when it comes to permitting delays for new mines our nation is among the worst in the world. Its leading us to be dependent upon foreign nations for the fundamental Building Blocks of a wide range of energy, defense, health care and other modern technologies. The energy and Natural Resources act that was reintroduced this year has provisions that take important steps to streamline project reviews in all three industries. This is an important bill that will help make needed progress. We also recognize that the challenges well hear about today represent a subset of the infrastructure sectors that are also struggling to permit projects. So, whether its energy production, pipelines, pump storage, water supply, lng or something else, our system needs to be improved across the board. We absolutely have the ability to establish a permitting process that works. One that protects the environment and promotes state and local input while not miring projects in red tape and driving away private investment. To achieve that goal, we have to set aside the misguided idea that accelerating or coordinating approvals somehow weakens those protections or that simply spending more money will fix all the problems. It doesnt. We know that. It wont work. Both common sense and experience tell us that we can maintain our high standards while speeding reviews and approvals. So i view this hearing as the next step in our effort to improve our nations infrastructure. I look forward to the insights and ideas from our witnesses to do just that. Thank you all for being here with us this morning. Senator cantwell, i welcome your comments. Thank you madam chair. I certainly welcome this infrastructure permitting oversight hearing. But i do think its interesting the wall street journal reported last weekend that President Trump will roll out on infrastructure plan in january proposing 200 billion of spending offset by cutting other federal programs. So before we start the hearing today, i want to remind my colleagues that the tax proposal before us is trying to be jammed through when we could be having this discussion right now about infrastructure investment. We obviously started the year with a lot of conversation between our colleagues, our leader, senator schumer, and speaker ryan, about doing an infrastructure bill that got set aside. I just want to make sure that people understand we have been more than willing to talk about our crumbling infrastructure for a long time. This morning were going to hear about permitting reform, which is a good discussion, but we need an infrastructure bill that is about funding. I am proud over the last two years that the chair, senator murkowski and i, tried to address the permitting issues on hydro and Critical Minerals. We passed legislation out of the senate that has not made it through a final process because of the house colleagues lack of interest in making sure that we take up the issues of improving hydro and other issues. Part of the issue, i believe, is making sure we adequately fund the permitting agencies. I am pleased that chad brown is here from the department of ecology, accredited they have been credited with an Innovative Solution for hydro resources and dam owners pool money to create reviews on time. I look forward to hearing more about it this morning. We should provide dedicated license fees directed to resource agencies. So i am pleased that we have a witness who can speak to the experience with the western area of Power Administration on transmission programs. I hope my colleagues will agree that federal programs that support investing in transmission deserve our support. And when it comes to the department of interior, i definitely want to make sure that we have questions here. I think secretary zenke has been abrupt in his actions at the department of interior. It seems like its just about whether you want a permission to drill. If so, then you get the keys to whatever public lands. In less than a year the interior Department Left 750 million in taxpayer royalties on the table and abandoned the plan to stop natural gas waste something we said in the senate that we strongly wanted to continue to see. The management of methane flaring. So he has ditched the plans negotiated by states. He ditched master leasing plans, skipped Public Comments periods, illegally suspending regulations. President trump has allowed his advice to strip protection from 200 acres and the largest rollback of public lands production in history, opening pristine desert area to drilling and mining. So the Washington Post confirmed over the weekend that the department of energy, fuels, resource, petition interior to open up the area for uranium mining and secretary zenke proposed even more rollbacks. I hope well take into context this morning the larger context of things happening as well. I know we will hear a lot from our witnesses, and i remain committed to improving our process. I also want to make sure that we are protecting the things that are in the taxpayers interests. Thank you, madam chair. Thank you, senator. Lets turn to the panel. Were joined by jim cason. Associate Department Secretary at the department of interior. We welcome you this morning. Ms. Janet fleeinger, acting executive director for the federal improvement staring council. Terry turpin, director for office of Energy Projects at the federal Energy Regulatory commission. Mr. Chad brown, as senator cantwell noted, is the Water QualityManagement Unit supervisor at the Washington Department of ecology. Thank you for traveling crosscountry. Ms. Roxanne caruso is the Vice President and general counsel for Transwest Express. Thank you for being here. Mr. Luke russell is with us from Hecla Mining Company where he is the Vice President for external affairs. We welcome each of you to the committee. We would ask that you provide your comments and hopefully about five minutes or so. Your full statements will be included as part of the record. Once you have completed your comments, we will have an opportunity for questions. Again, if we need to interrupt because we need to do a quick business meeting, we certainly would hope you understand. Mr. Cason, if you would like to begin. Thank you, madam chairman. I for one will be very happy with a break. For what you are planning to do. Chairman murkowski, Ranking Member cantwell, members of the committee. I am jim cason. I serve as the associate deputy secretary of the department of the interior. Thank you for inviting me to testify today on the departments efforts to improve the efficiency and accountability of federal permitting for Infrastructure Projects. I ask that my entire written record or my entire written statement be incorporated into the record. It will be included. Thank you. As will everyone elses. Thank you. The department is acutely aware that the president has the vision for empowering the private sector, as well as state and local governments, through infrastructure enhancements and improvements. Interior believes that creating greater efficiencies in the overall federal permitting process is crucial to addressing infrastructure needs. Executive order 13807 ignited an administrationwide assessment about how best to address inefficiencies in the current Infrastructure Project decisions that delay investments. Decreased job creation or are costly to the american taxpayer. In turn, the department signed secretary order 3355 which includes setting page and time limitations for most Environmental Impact statements, setting target page and time limitations for preparation of environmental assessments, reviewing the departments current need for procedures and providing recommendations to streamline the process, and implementing eo 13807 to the fullest extent possible. We believe our efforts to accelerate and streamline nepa compliance efforts will also help us to achieve our responsible Energy Development goals. Executive order 13783 directed agencies to immediately review and report on all Agency Actions that potentially burden the safe, Efficient Development of Domestic Energy resources. In turn, the Department Released the, quote, review of department of the interior actions that potentially burden Domestic Energy report on october 25, 2017. We believe the report is a useful tool to reduce the impediments to processes, including permitting to promote safe, Efficient Development of Domestic Energy resources. My written testimony further discusses interiors efforts regarding offshore energy, as well as implementation of title 41 of the fixing americas surface transportation, or f. A. S. T. Act. Chairman murkowski, i appreciate the opportunity to testify before the committee, and i look forward to answering questions. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Cason. Miss fleger. Chairman murkowski. Ranking member cantwell, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. The federal permitting improvement steering council, known as the permitting council, was created by title 41 of the f. A. S. T. Act. Known as fast 41. It brings accountability and transparency to what has been an uncertain and unpredictable process. It upholds existing environmental laws and statutory responsibilities of the 16 permitting Council Agencies. Additionally fast 41 is a voluntary program in which project sponsors apply to become covered projects. As acting executive director of the permitting council, my office and the council are bringing about a new way of doing business to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the federal permitting process for complex Infrastructure Projects in our nation. The permitting council is ccompd of top leadership to streamlining occurs at all levels of the organizations. In addition the council is working with the administration to improve the permitting process through executive order 13807 establishing discipline and accountability in the Environmental Review and permitting process for Infrastructure Projects. The office of the executive director, known as o. E. D. , oversees fast 41 implementation and serves as a one stop shop for project sponsors. Oed is changing institutional behavior and culture, enhancing agency collaboration, resolving disputes, assuring transparency in the permitting process and ensuring agencies better coordinate and synchronize Environmental Reviews and authorizations. My office is focused on three areas that ill highlight for you. Early and formalized crossagency coordination, increased transparency through the permitting dashboard and dispute resolution. Fast 41 requires the development of coordinated project plans, an essential tool for crossagency planning and implementing best practices. The initial development and quarterly updates of cpps formalize the collaboration. This allows difficult issues to be addressed early in the process to prevent confusion and delays later in the process. Moving forward, my office is working with agencies to ensure cpps emphasize concurrent rather than sequential permitting actions. Earlier this month the permitting council released its 2018 recommended best practices for infrastructure permitting. My office will be ensuring agency implement of the best practices to generate efficiencies in the permitting process. And the executive director is required to report to congress each april on agency progress. The permitting dashboard brings an unprecedented degree of transparency to the process. The time tables list target completion dates for permits. Each quarter my office and the permitting Agency Review the dates, and my office enforces restrictions for modifications to the dates. With nationwide visibility and a builtin accountability structure the dashboard provides the public, project sponsors and other stakeholders with clarity and certainty in the permitting process. To my third point, project sponsors have contacted my office for help with specific issues, such as when a sponsor received contradictory information from headquarters and field offices or when agencies working together on a project disagreed on a path forward. A notable success, in this area was my office using the fast 41 dispute resolution process to address a stalled review. The resulting coordination among agencies allowed subsequent authorizations to move forward and, as relayed by the project sponsor, saved an estimated six months and 300 million in capital costs for the project. Going forward, my office will continue to use the fast 41 tools of oversight, transparency, collaboration, and accountability to improve the permitting process. The fiscal year 2018 president s budget request of 10 million provides the funding support we need to fully use these fast 41 tools. As new projects come on board from the start, they will benefit from the enhanced transparency, coordination and agency and accountability of fast 41. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I welcome your questions. Thank you. Mr. Turpin, welcome to the committee. Good morning. Thank you. My name is terry turpin, director of the office of Energy Projects, federal Energy Regulatory commission. The office is responsible for taking a lead role in carrying out the commissions duties and citing Infrastructure Projects. Nonfederal hydro Power Projects. Natural Gas Pipelines and Storage Facilities and lick whi liquidfied terminals. Thank you for inviting me today. As a member of the commission staff, the views i express in my testimony are my own and not necessarily those of the commission or of any individual commissioner. Under the federal power act the commission regulates over 1600 nonfederal hydro Power Projects at over 2500 dams. Together they represent 56 giga watts of hydro power capacity, more than half of all the hydro power in the United States. In the last five years, the commission has authorized 71 new projects with a com