WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted 213-184 to pass a bill that aims to speed up federal permitting of interstate ‍natural gas pipelines by designating the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as the lead agency in the process.

The Improving Interagency Coordination for Pipeline Reviews Act gives the agency the authority to weigh water quality assessments in its environmental review process instead of having ‌to wait for a separate certification under ‌the Clean Water Act from states, which has prolonged the permitting process.

The bill is one of several pieces of legislation aimed at speeding up permitting in Congress. Another bill called Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today also passed with bipartisan support.

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