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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"Outdated federal guidance and regulations issued by the EPA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)
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