Trump seeking to speed up oil and gas projects
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is planning to issue a pair of executive orders to “help American energy companies avoid unnecessary red tape” by making it easier for firms to build oil and gas pipelines and harder for state agencies to intervene, according to the White House.
The executive action seeks to rein in states’ power by changing the implementation instructions issued by federal agencies and changing the deadlines for state action, according to a former Trump administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect his relationships. The order would alter Transportation Department rules to allow the shipment of liquefied natural gas by rail and tanker truck, he said. And it would seek to limit shareholder ballot initiatives designed to alter companies’ policies on environmental and social issues.
A second order, focused on cross-border energy projects, would clarify that the president is solely responsible for approving or denying pipelines and other infrastructure that cross international boundaries. The secretary of state has previously played that role.
Critics said the president’s orders would trample on authority delegated to the states under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act and other congressional legislation. That authority has been upheld twice by the Supreme Court. Trump’s move would benefit, among others, Energy Transfer Partners, whose CEO, Kelcy Warren, was a major contributor to Trump’s campaign.
The orders are a response to the oil and gas industry, which has complained that pipeline delays have slowed expanded production. Shale gas in Pennsylvania’s giant Marcellus formation has been unable to reach New England markets, and TransCanada has been unable to persuade the Nebraska Public Service Commission or federal courts to allow the completion of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry lowquality crude oil produced in Canada’s tar sands region.
“These two executive orders will promote the development of new energy infrastructure, create jobs and provide more affordable, reliable energy,” said a senior administration official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.
The construction of oil and gas pipelines has become a flash point for the environmental movement, which has launched high-profile protests and court battles to block pipelines not only for concerns about local pollution but also as part of a strategy to keep oil and gas fossil fuels in the ground.
In Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, halted work on a pipeline project by the Canadian company Enbridge, while the state attorney general said a law enabling it was unconstitutional. Separately, Enbridge is expected to go to court in Minnesota to restart another line.
In Virginia, the Southern Environmental Law Center has won a string of legal victories that have disrupted work on a $ 7 billion 600-mile gas pipeline.
Moreover, state leaders have urged Trump not to try to override state agencies. Doing so, said a letter from the Western Governors Association, “would inflict serious harm to the division of state and federal authorities established by Congress.” The group said the states had “exercised their authority . . . efficiently, effectively and equitably.”
“This is a disastrous idea, one that exposes the hypocrisy of the Trump administration and threatens to undercut the ability of state leaders to determine how best to protect their rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands,” the Natural Resources Defense Council said in a statement on Tuesday.