A recent article from Law 360 highlights the uncertain future of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (S. 5653), or BAAJA, now that Democrats have gained control of the house and senate in the midterm elections. The article examines how the shift in power could affect the troublesome bill as the Senate prepares for a vote during the upcoming November 9 lame-duck session.
The bill, which would limit environmental reviews and judicial oversight of infrastructure projects, has growing opposition from Democratic lawmakers, Tribal groups, and environmental organizations. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., who is expected to take the chairman’s gavel of the House Committee on Natural Resources, has publicly criticized the BAAJA’s permitting changes and has called for Democrats to rewrite the legislation once they’ve regained control of Congress.
For the Delta, the BAAJA threatens California’s authority over water quality, limits review of at-risk fish species under the Endangered Species Act, and inevitably locks in permits for projects such as the Delta Conveyance Project or Class VI carbon storage wells that would negatively impact the region. Additionally, Tribes would be overlooked in federal consultation on projects and face significant overstep of their sovereignty.
Although some Democratic lawmakers support the passage of this bill, any proposed benefits from the legislation are at the expense of environmental safeguards, state authority, and the health and safety of Californians. Restore the Delta urges all Bay-Delta area representatives to work with potential chair, Rep. Huffman, to address the bill’s harmful language.
Read the full article here.
URGENT ACTION ALERT: New permitting bill would devastate ecosystems and Tribal sovereignty
The date is approaching. This Monday, November 9, the Senate is expected to hold its first floor vote on S.5653, the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (BAAJA).
If passed, this proposed legislation would significantly alter federal environmental review processes and weaken protections for waterways, public lands, wildlife, and Tribal sovereignty.
TAKE ACTION: Contact your Senator and Representative today!
Contact your Senators and Representatives and urge them to oppose S. 5653. Tell them to work with Representative Jared Huffman to advance energy developments and infrastructure improvements WITHOUT placing our waterways, public lands, communities and ecosystems at risk.
What is the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (BAAJA)?
On September 30, 2026, Senators Shelley Moore Capito, Mike Lee, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Martin Heinrich introduced Senate Bill 5653, the “Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026”, a sweeping permitting reform bill that threatens to undermine the bedrock environmental laws protecting tribes, communities, and ecosystems across the country.
SB 5653, would make federal approvals for water, energy, and carbon dioxide projects faster to issue, harder to challenge, and very hard to revisit. For the Delta, the core risks are a weaker State role over water quality, shorter and narrower Endangered Species Act reviews for listed fish, and permits for projects such as the Delta Conveyance Project or Class VI carbon storage wells that would be locked in once issued. Tribes lose ground in federal consultation on projects, and face significant overstep of their sovereignty. Although there are important energy reforms in this bill, any proposed benefits from the legislation are at the expense of environmental safeguards, state authority, and the health and safety of Californians.
Contact your Senator and Representative today!
We ask that you call and/or email your Senator and Representative urging them to oppose SB 5653.
Find your representative here.
After finding your Senator and Representative’s information, tell them that SB 5653:
- Proposes to roll back federal environmental protections. Weaker rules could allow major water infrastructure projects, like the Delta tunnel, to bypass federal environmental reviews and limit state oversight and legal challenges.
- Would cause significant harm to already endangered Delta species such as Delta smelt, longfin smelt, and salmon. Environmental reviews would become limited and lack of scientific research would negatively impact future project decisions.
- Does not allow agencies to reinitiate project permits to consider new research or consider newly discovered impacts, raising enforcement concerns.
- Jeopardizes Tribal sovereignty, limiting and creating exemptions for review processes central to protecting Tribal cultural sites, introducing federal oversight of Tribal Heritage Preservation Officers that far oversteps, and creating significant limits to judicial review.
- And to work with Representative Jared Huffman in developing a better version of the bill that goes through the full policy process.
Thank you for standing with us and taking the time to speak up for communities, Tribes, and ecosystems that depend on the health of the Bay-Delta estuary.
In solidarity,
Restore the Delta Team