President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders aimed at speeding up oil and gas pipeline permitting, including limiting the ability of activists and states to block key energy projects.
Trump signed the orders Wednesday at an International Union of Operating Engineers’ training center near Houston.
Some labor unions have pushed back against Democrats’ anti-fossil fuel agenda, including the recently introduced Green New Deal.
Trump ordered federal agencies to speed up permitting for pipeline projects, including asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to curtail state authority to block projects under the Clean Water Act (CWA).
The administration is responding to criticisms that some states have weaponized CWA permitting to block energy projects.
For example, New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration has blocked a number of natural gas pipelines from running through his state, depriving the northeast of much-needed energy supplies.
The supply crunch hit hard during winter when the region was forced to import gas from Russia. New York City locals fear a moratorium on new gas hook-ups will stall commercial developments.
Across the country, Washington state, under Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, a 2020 contender, has blocked coal and oil export terminals planned along the Pacific coast.
The state’s actions relied on a wide-ranging permit review that included factors that had nothing to do with water quality.
“President Trump is doing some spring cleaning on regulations used by no-growth advocates to stop infrastructure in its tracks and deny Americans the benefits our energy dominance promises,” Dan Kish, a distinguished senior fellow at the free-market Institute for Energy Research, said in an email.
“President [Barack] Obama lamented the lack of shovel-ready jobs; President Trump is going straight to the operating engineers who will build our infrastructure to show how he will clean out the stables and make America stronger,” Kish said.
However, Trump’s ability to curtail pipeline obstruction is rather limited without action from Congress.
The order also directs the Transportation Department to update rules for shipping natural gas by rail. It also asked the Labor Department whether or not climate activist shareholder resolutions violate the fiduciary duty of retirement funds.
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Stephen Moore is a nominee for the Federal Reserve. Yesterday, he said that growth is the cure for inflation, not the cause. Here’s his reasoning: Growth in the supply of commodities lowers prices. Bingo. Keep prices down, you can keep interest rates down. It’s a virtuous cycle.
Supercharge the economy and the national debt disappears in the dust.
Trump has been right from day one. I don’t like him, but I’ll give him that.
WE already know the Democrats are in the pockets of the Deep Greens Inslee and Cuomo are the servants the Major Domo’s for the Deep Ecologists and the back to nature weirdos its time to put jobs ahead of the pipe dreams of the Eco-Wackos and make sure some rogue judge cant block the pipeline the same rogue judges Obama inserted in
Canada’s Prime Minister photo op loves to shut pipeline projects down. .Even goes so far as waste tax payers money buying them .
When the Chinese tell him to flow oil that Trans Mountain pipeline will magically be expanded . Just waiting authorization as they hook up with First Nations and arrange financing .
The apology tour carries on till November .