Energy operators get break on killing of birds

WASHINGTON — The Interior Department has quietly rolled back an Obama-era policy aimed at protecting migratory birds, stating in a solicitor’s opinion that it will no longer prosecute oil and gas, wind and solar operators that accidentally kill birds.

The new interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act marks a win for energy interests that described the federal government’s previous position as overreaching. On Jan. 10, before President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Interior had issued an opinion declaring that operators could face legal liability for the incidental deaths of birds ensnared in uncovered oil-waste pits or unmarked transmission lines.

In the new opinion, Daniel Jorjani, Interior’s principal deputy solicitor, wrote that applying the 1918 law “to incidental or accidental actions hangs the sword of Damocles over a host of otherwise lawful and productive actions, threatening up to six months in jail and a $15,000 fine for each and every bird injured or killed.”

Jorjani once worked as general counsel for Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, a project of billionaire oil executives Charles and David Koch.

replace one that was crushed in the Sept. 11 attacks has been temporarily suspended amid rising costs and questions over how donations have been managed.

The St. Nicholas National Shrine next to the World Trade Center memorial plaza was to replace a tiny church obliterated when the trade center’s South Tower fell in 2001.

The new building was designed by renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, who created the soaring white bird- like mall and transit hub nearby called the Oculus.

But the church is being funded through donations, including from the Greek government, Greek Orthodox church members around the world, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and the Italian city of Bari, whose patron saint is St. Nicholas. In September, the estimated cost was $50 million. But the estimated cost has jumped to as high as $ 78 million.

The stoppage was ordered by the construction company on the project, Skanska USA, because of missed payment deadlines.