Wyoming Senators Back Federal Bill to Cut Energy Permit Times

U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis voted to advance the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026, a federal measure designed to impose strict deadlines on environmental reviews for energy and mineral projects. The bill would establish a 150-day window for certain legal challenges to federal authorizations and set time limits for environmental reviews. It also seeks to simplify the construction of interstate power lines and protect issued permits from later legal disputes.

The legislation targets a system where federal oversight often delays projects. In Wyoming, nearly half of the land is federally managed. About 67% of the state’s subsurface mineral estate is federally owned. Because of this, a large share of oil and gas development in Wyoming involves a federal nexus. This means projects require federal review even if they are located on private land, provided the minerals beneath belong to the federal government.

Barrasso stated that America needs to build faster, cheaper, and smarter as energy demand rises. He noted that Wyoming holds coal, oil, natural gas, and uranium to meet that demand. Lummis described the reform as long overdue for Wyoming families and energy workers. She said that every year a project sits in federal review or in courts, costs soar and electric bills increase. Both senators emphasized that the bill would allow the country’s nuclear fuel supply chain to grow domestically.

Industry leaders view the bill as a way to clear long-standing hurdles. Ryan McConnaughey, vice president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, called the measure a big step forward. He explained that the bill would remove the requirement for a federal drilling permit for certain wells on nonfederal land, including some involving split-estate minerals. Under current rules, operators drilling on private land over federal minerals need approval from both the Bureau of Land Management and the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. They must also work out terms with the surface owner.

Rusty Bell, CEO of Energy Capital Economic Development in Gillette, said the current double approval process can take years. He warned that longer approval periods expose companies to changing political and market conditions. McConnaughey cited the Converse County Oil and Gas Project as an example of these delays. Energy companies first proposed the project in 2013. The Bureau of Land Management approved it in December 2020, authorizing up to 5,000 wells across about 1.5 million acres. Environmental groups sued in 2022. A federal judge halted new drilling permits in 2024 due to flaws in the groundwater analysis and threw out the approval in 2026.

Andi LeBeau, a Northern Arapaho tribal member and former Wyoming House minority whip, raised concerns about the bill’s impact on sacred sites. She wrote on Facebook that streamlining reviews could make it harder to pause construction while agencies correct flawed reviews. She specifically called for an amendment to remove Division B, Title III, which rewrites how the federal government reviews projects affecting historic sites. Katie Warbinton, communications director for Lummis, said the senator values her relationship with Wyoming’s tribes and welcomes continued conversation as the bill moves forward. The bill cleared two procedural votes on Monday and Tuesday and is expected to face amendments and a final vote next week.