President Donald Trump is at it again, ruffling those liberal feathers.
In a move that the left is calling an overreach of power that will harm the environment, the president signed two executive orders that will facilitate the building of new oil and gas pipelines.
Making things easier
President Trump signed the documents before an audience of engineers in Crosby, Texas on Wednesday. “Nobody in the world can do what you folks do,” he told them. “And we’re going to make it easier for you.”
The two orders form a plan to do just that — eliminate obstacles regularly confronted by the oil and gas industries. And, part of that plan involves getting the state out of the way.
As things currently stand, states have a direct role in the issuance of federal permits for energy infrastructure projects that have the potential to pollute protected waters. This process is described in one of the executive orders as “outdated” and the cause of “confusion and uncertainty.” As such, Trump wants the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help address this problem, and his first order instructs the agency to engage directly with tribal organizations and states before any regulations designed to achieve compliance with the Clean Air Act are enacted.
But, the order doesn’t stop there. It also addresses the need for long-distance transportation of liquefied natural gas in circumstances where pipelines are not an option. Accordingly, it would allow the product to travel by approved railroad tank cars.
The second order is aimed at international actors. In line with the traditional role of the executive, it gives the president the sole authority to “issue, deny, or amend” permits for international infrastructure projects. Previously, the Department of State was in charge of overseeing this function.
Unleashing American energy
These executive orders are part of the president’s broader initiative to develop energy infrastructure and “unleash American energy.” “When it comes to the future of America’s energy needs, we will find it, we will dream it, and we will build it,” Trump said.
The ultimate goal of the project is to promote “an efficient domestic energy market that creates jobs and provides affordable, reliable energy to consumers.”
Don Santa, CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America expressed support for the president’s decision and praised the elimination of “procedural ineffeciencies” that can cause delays in already lengthy processes that are so crucial to the continued growth of the industry.
But, of course, this is not how the left views the president’s executive orders.
Decrying Trump’s orders
The president has faced criticism from the left on two grounds: that the orders are an “overreach” of his authority and that they make it more difficult to protect the environment.
Chief among the critics is Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY). In a statement, he said that the order seeking to eliminate state involvement in the permit process is a “gross overreach of federal authority” that inhibits the state’s ability to “protect our water quality and our environment.”
Democrat Governor Jay Inslee of Washington agreed, saying in a statement that the orders constitute “an unprecedented assault on the right and obligation of every state to protect their waters and communities.”
Those in favor of the orders, however, argue that the critics have things backward — that it is precisely the restraints that the president is trying to eliminate that make it more difficult for companies to provide a safe and affordable service that has the beneficial side effect of creating much-needed jobs.
There is no doubt that opponents will try to fight the two executive orders in the courts. Whether they succeed or not, only time will tell.
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