Window Seat for Sleeping.

[webfact]

Trump to seek to stop states from delaying energy projects

By Timothy Gardner

 

U.S. President Donald Trump waits to welcome Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi to the White House in Washington, U.S., April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will issue two executive orders in the heart of the Texas energy hub on Wednesday seeking to speed gas, coal and oil projects delayed by coastal states as he looks to build support ahead of next year's election.

 

Trump's orders will direct his Environmental Protection Agency to change a part of the U.S. clean water law that has allowed states, on the basis of environmental reasons, to delay projects such as pipelines to carry natural gas to New England and coal export terminals on the West Coast.

 

Trump will issue the orders at a training center for union members in the petroleum industry in Houston, an event sandwiched between fundraising events in Texas for the 2020 campaign.

 

"Outdated federal guidance and regulations issued by the EPA have caused confusion and uncertainty leading to project delays, lost jobs and reduced economic performance," a senior administration official told reporters in a conference call. "We are not trying to take away power from the states, but we are trying to make sure that state actions comply with the statutory intent of the law."

 

An environmentalist decried the planned orders. "Trump can try to rewrite regulations in favor of Big Oil, but he can't stop people power and our movement," said May Boeve, the head of 350.org.

 

The orders will direct the EPA to review and update guidance issued during the administration of President Barack Obama on the so-called 401 provision of the Clean Water Act. The measure required companies to get certifications from states before building interstate pipelines approved by the federal government.

 

New York state used it to block pipelines that would send natural gas to New England, forcing the region at times to import liquefied natural gas from countries including Russia.

 

In 2017, Washington state Governor Jay Inslee, a Democrat and 2020 candidate for president, denied a water permit for the Millennium Bulk Terminal, a coal export facility that would have expanded the ability of companies to send western coal to Asian markets.

 

'ENERGY DOMINANCE'

The executive orders are part of the Trump administration's policy of "energy dominance" to increase oil, gas and coal production, but forcing the EPA changes will take time. The official said the agency would have to follow normal procedures, including a comment period, and that projects already tied up in litigation "are obviously a much longer-term issue."

 

One of the orders will direct the transportation secretary to propose allowing liquefied natural gas, a liquid form of the fuel, to be shipped in approved rail cars, a change that could increase its flow between terminals and markets.

 

The executive orders could also speed projects in Texas. Energy investors vying for permits to build oil export terminals along the Gulf Coast say they have worked closely with Trump officials in a bid to speed regulatory reviews of facilities capable of loading supertankers.

 

U.S. and state agencies overseeing permit applications have taken too long to approve projects, the investors said, adding they were worried their projects would miss the most profitable years of the U.S. crude export boom.

 

Four energy groups led by Trafigura AG, Carlyle Group, Enterprise Products Partners LP and Enbridge Inc have applied to build terminals in Texas.

 

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici in Washington and Collin Eaton in Houston; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-04-10

[blazes]

This is precisely the leadership that Canada requires to get its own energy industry thriving instead of being thwarted at every opportunity by ecowarriors funded by American sources. 

 

Amazing how well these Luddites use the legal system and bamboozle indigenous groups to block economic development over and over again. 

[Srikcir]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

"We are not trying to take away power from the states, but we are trying to make sure that state actions comply with the statutory intent of the law."

Well yes he is:

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Trump's orders will direct his Environmental Protection Agency to change a part of the U.S. clean water law that has allowed states, on the basis of environmental reasons, to delay projects such as pipelines to carry natural gas to New England and coal export terminals on the West Coast. (my underline)

It's federal compliance with federal laws that's Trump's problem.

• A federal judge in Montana halted construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline
• Trump’s bid to restore oil and gas leasing in U.S. waters was blocked by a federal judge in Alaska

Fortunately for the States, Presidential Orders cannot void nor amend laws.

That will require Congress and more specifically a majority of House Representatives now controlled by the Democrats.

[elmrfudd]

[bristolboy]

7 hours ago, blazes said:

This is precisely the leadership that Canada requires to get its own energy industry thriving instead of being thwarted at every opportunity by ecowarriors funded by American sources. 

 

Amazing how well these Luddites use the legal system and bamboozle indigenous groups to block economic development over and over again. 

Chris Kobach would be perfect for the Trump administration. His career is mostly a long string of legal faillures, abuse of taxpayer money, and contempt of court citations.. He has a huge record of just flat out lying. There's way too much material to go into in detail. But it's definitely eye-popping reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kris_Kobach

edit: I can't resist putting in this one:

"As Kansas Secretary of State, he requested additional evidence of Obama's birth before he would allow Obama to appear on Kansas ballots for the 2012 presidential election, even after the release of Obama's long-form birth certificate. "

"In 2016, Kobach said that there are "interesting things" about the question of Obama's citizenship that "just made you scratch your head."^[196] Kobach said that Obama's opposition to Kansas's proof of citizenship requirement law was possibly because the president was not a citizen himself: "maybe that's why he doesn't talk about proof of citizenship, because he, you know, he would rather not bring up the citizenship issue."^[196]"

And this is actually minor compared to his numerous other misdeeds.

Edited April 10, 2019 by bristolboy

[twocatsmac]

Gotta feel for Captain Trump, he’s sailing with a ship full of vagabonds and pirates. Keel haul the mutineers i say. 

Edited April 10, 2019 by twocatsmac