US President Donald Trump issued executive orders aimed at speeding the permitting process for oil and gas pipelines and other energy projects.
“Too often badly needed energy infrastructure is being held back by special interest groups, entrenched bureaucracies, and radical activists,” the president said during an appearance in Crosby, Tex.
“But we’ve made a lot of progress and taken down a lot of barriers to producing and transporting oil and gas in the last 2½ years in the US,” Trump said. “I am signing two groundbreaking executive orders to continue the revival of American industry and jobs. My action today will cut through destructive permitting delays and denials so we can get to work producing the energy we need to compete around the world.”
Specifically, the president ordered the US Environmental Protection Agency to review and update guidance to states under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. Pipeline project sponsors have complained that the New York State Department of Environmental Protection withheld permits in that federal provision to effectively stop construction of interstate systems.
Trump also ordered the US Department of Transportation to update regulations involving LNG projects, and signed an order aimed at improving the process for issuing permits for certain cross-border energy transmission projects.
Following the president’s announcement, US Energy Sec. Rick Perry said the Department of Energy would work in consultation with:
• US Transportation Sec. Elaine Chao to submit a report to the president regarding the impacts of current limitations on the export of coal, oil, natural gas, and other energy resources from the US West Coast.
• Heads of other agencies to submit a report to the president, through the assistant to the president for economic policy, describing federal government and other opportunities to promote economic growth of the Appalachian region, including growth of petrochemical and other industries. This report also will assess methods for diversifying the Appalachian economy and promoting workforce development.
• Chao, to report to the president regarding the economic and other effects caused by the inability to transport sufficient quantities of gas and other energy resources to the New England states and, as the Transportation Secretary deems appropriate, to states in other parts of the country. This report will assess whether, and to what extent, state, local, tribal, or territorial actions have contributed to such effects.
‘Create clear pathways’
American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers Pres. Chet Thompson observed that the executive order would create clear pathways for project permitting processes and support energy infrastructure development. “By clarifying the roles of federal and state agencies in permitting decisions, today’s order will help promote investment in critical energy infrastructure development and associated good-paying jobs, while maintaining important environmental protections,” he said.
Interstate Natural Gas Association of America Pres. Donald F. Santa said, “Currently, the process for reviewing and approving new or expanded interstate natural gas pipelines is robust and transparent—two things that we continue to believe are essential—but procedural inefficiencies can delay a process that already spans several years.”
Association of Oil Pipeline Pres. Andrew J. Black said, “The new EO will return the cross-border permit process to the simple, commonsense place it should be, which is energy movement across the borders with Canada and Mexico is good for America.”
GPA Midstream Association Pres. and Chief Executive Officer Mark Sutton said, “We have previously seen some states use the Clean Water Act’s Section 401 permit process to essentially stall valid pipeline projects, and that isn’t right.”
Charlie Riedl, executive of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas in Washington, said that Trump’s executive order also sets the stage for key updates to LNG facilities, beginning a transition to a modern, risk-based analysis while ensuring proper environmental safeguards are in place. “This will allow LNG projects to implement the latest technologies and improve their operating procedures,” he said.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].
