Trump aiming to make it harder for states to block pipelines

By Darlene Superville and Kevin Freking / Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO — President Donald Trump’s support for shifting more power to states took a back seat Wednesday to his affinity for oil and gas production as he moved to make it harder for states to block pipelines and other energy projects due to environmental concerns.

At the urging of influential business groups, Trump was to sign two executive orders designed to speed up oil and gas pipeline projects. The action comes after officials in Washington state and New York used the permitting process to stop new energy projects in recent years.

The Trump administration insisted that it’s not trying to take power away from the states but, rather, trying to make sure that state actions follow the intent of the Clean Water Act.

Trump’s move comes less than a week after nearly a dozen business groups told EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler that the environmental review and permitting process for energy infrastructure projects “has become a target for environmental activists and states that oppose the production and use of fossil fuels.”

The groups said in an April 5 letter that individual states shouldn’t be able to use provisions of the Clear Air Act “to dictate national policy, thereby harming other states and the national interest and damaging cooperative federalism.”

Washington state blocked the building of a coal terminal in 2017, saying there were too many major harmful impacts including air pollution, rail safety and vehicle traffic.

New York regulators stopped a natural gas pipeline, saying it failed to meet standards to protect streams, wetlands and other water resources. Under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, companies must get certification from the state before moving ahead with an energy project.

One of Trump’s planned executive orders calls for the Environmental Protection Agency to consult with states, tribes and others before issuing new guidance and rules for states on how to comply with the law.

Environmental groups described Trump’s order as an effort to short-circuit a state’s ability to review complicated projects, putting at risk a state’s ability to protect drinking water supplies and wildlife.

“The Trump Administration’s proposal would trample on state authority to protect waters within their own borders,” said Jim Murphy, senior counsel for the National Wildlife Federation.

The private Center for Biological Diversity said Wednesday’s actions would mark the fourth time Trump has used executive orders to streamline permits for fossil-fuel infrastructure.

“Trump’s developing an addiction to executive orders that rubberstamp these climate-killing projects,” said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the center.

Trump was to sign the orders while visiting the International Union of Operating Engineers International Training and Education Center, a union-run facility in Crosby, northeast of Houston.

Trade groups representing the oil and gas industry applauded the orders and said greater access to natural gas benefits families and the environment.

“When states say ‘no’ to the development of natural gas pipelines, they force utilities to curb safe and affordable service and refuse access to new customers including new businesses,” said Karen Harbert, president and CEO at the American Gas Association.

The second executive order Trump was to announce Wednesday streamlines the process for energy infrastructure that crosses international borders.

Currently, the secretary of state has the authority to issue permits for cross-border infrastructure such as pipelines. The executive order clarifies that the president will make the decision on whether to issue such permits.

The move follows Trump’s decision last month to issue a new presidential permit for the long-stalled Keystone XL oil pipeline — two years after he first approved it and more than a decade after it was first proposed.

Trump was signing the orders in between campaign fundraisers in San Antonio and Houston.

Republican Party Chair Ronna McDaniel said the pair of fundraisers would bring in at least $6 million to be shared by Trump’s re-election effort and the Republican National Committee.

Associated Press writers Richard Lardner and Matthew Daly in Washington contributed to this report.