Building any type of energy infrastructure can be a heavy lift, but getting permission to do it can take even longer. Years of environmental reviews, agency coordination and courtroom battles have delayed projects and driven up costs. Now, Congress is considering another permitting overhaul that could shorten reviews, curb legal uncertainty and give all kinds of energy-related projects a boost. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at the major themes of the permitting reform bill being considered by Congress, how it would change the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and how it could make it easier to build or expand oil and gas pipelines.
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The permitting process for major energy projects is a well-known problem that we’ve written about extensively over the years. The issue has slowed a number of oil- or gas-related projects, most famously the long-delayed Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), while also impacting the development process for everything from long-distance transmission lines and large-scale wind and solar projects to the production of metals and critical minerals essential for many energy projects. So, if it has taken a decade or more to get final approval for some projects, with MVP even requiring an act of Congress, it shouldn’t be a great surprise that reforms to the permitting process itself would be slow moving too.
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About the song
“The Breakout” was written by John Mellencamp and George Green. It appears as the ninth song on John Mellencamp’s 13th studio album, Dance Naked. The song is about loneliness and the need to break out and escape a dreary existence to a better way of life. Personnel on the record were: John Mellencamp (lead vocals, guitar), Toby Myers (bass), Mike Wanchic (guitar, organ, backing vocals), Andy York (guitar, organ, percussion) and Kenny Aronoff (drums, percussion).
Dance Naked was recorded between October 1993 and February 1994 at Belmont Mall Recording in Belmont, IN. Produced by John Mellencamp and Mike Wanchic, the album was released in June 1994 and went to #13 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. It has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. One single was released from the LP.
John Mellencamp is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician. After playing in local bands in Seymour, IN, he moved to New York City in 1975, performing as Johnny Cougar. He signed with Tony DeFries at MainMan Management and released his debut studio album, Chestnut Street Incident, in October 1976. He started performing as John Cougar Mellencamp with the release of his seventh studio album, Uh-Huh, which contained three Top 20 hits. He has released 25 studio albums, two live albums, five compilation albums and 71 singles and has sold over 60 million records worldwide. Mellencamp is one of the founding members of Farm Aid, which began in 1985 and continues to help American farmers. He has won a Grammy Award and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018. Twenty-two members have passed through his bands since he began recording. He continues to record and perform. His last studio album, Orpheus Descending, was released in June 2023. He finished his Dancing Words Tour, The Greatest Hits in August and appeared at Farm Aid in September.
"About the Song" -- written by Mickey McMahan , RBN Director of Musicology
