Air Permitting National Security Waiver

Summary#

This bill would change the Clean Air Act so the President can waive offset requirements for certain new or modified facilities when doing so is determined to be in the national security interest. The waiver applies to "advanced manufacturing facilities" (defined as facilities mainly making semiconductors or semiconductor equipment) and "critical mineral facilities" (defined as facilities mainly extracting, processing, refining, or milling minerals designated as critical by the Secretary of the Interior).

The bill also requires state permitting authorities to allow these facilities to meet offset obligations by alternative or innovative means when the source shows it has used all reasonable efforts to obtain available offsets. States may instead impose an emissions fee no greater than 1.5 times the average cost of recent local stationary source control measures; those fees must be used to maximize emissions reductions in the area.

What it means for you#

  • Facility owners/operators: If you operate or plan to build a semiconductor plant or a critical mineral facility, you could apply for a Presidential waiver of federal offset requirements. You must first show you tried to obtain available offsets.
  • State permitting authorities: You must allow alternative offset measures or collect an emissions fee (within the bill's cap) if a qualifying facility cannot obtain sufficient offsets. You must use collected fees to maximize local emissions reductions.
  • General public: The bill changes how certain industrial emissions increases may be handled for covered facilities. The President cannot delegate the national security waiver decision to someone else.

Expenses#

  • The bill allows states to collect an emissions fee from covered sources, capped at no more than 1.5 times the average cost of stationary source control measures adopted in that area during the previous three years. Those fees must be used to maximize emissions reductions locally.
  • No publicly available information on federal budgetary costs, economic effects, or estimated changes in emissions is provided in the bill text or metadata.

Proponents' View#

The bill's short title and provisions indicate its purpose: to support critical manufacturing and protect national security by giving the President waiver authority for offset requirements and by allowing states to accept alternative offset measures or fees for qualifying semiconductor and critical mineral facilities.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.