Trump plans to sign executive orders to clear way for pipelines

Donald Trump plans to sign executive orders that will clear a path for oil and gas pipeline developments.

Deer gather at a depot used to store pipes for TransCanada Corp.'s planned Keystone XL oil pipeline. Picture: Reuters

In a move to expedite oil and gas pipeline projects, US President Donald Trump plans to sign a pair of executive orders that would overhaul some environmental permitting rules and limit shareholder resolutions aimed at environmental concerns, according to a senior administration official.

The orders, which Mr Trump plans to sign Wednesday, are in part aimed at blunting the ability of environmental activists and state regulators to use the Clean Water Act to obstruct oil and gas pipeline projects, the official said.

“There are a lot of problems with the way the Clean Water Act is being interpreted,” the official said. “These two executive orders will promote the development of new energy infrastructure, create jobs and provide affordable energy to consumers.” Mr Trump is seeking to fulfil a campaign promise to streamline government reviews and speed up energy projects. Interstate pipeline projects, in particular, have faced delays, with new lines to take natural gas to coastal consumers stalled for years under court and regulatory challenges.

But decades of law and court precedent often underpin those challenges, and even some of Mr Trump’s supporters agree with legal experts and analysts who say his ability to make changes is limited without new laws from Congress or the states.

“We expect little impact on projects pending in the near-term,” the analysis firm ClearView Energy Partners LLC said in a note. “Although the (orders) may narrow the parameters of future … reviews, substantial changes to the program and its timelines only appear to be achievable through Congressional action,” which ClearView calls unlikely.

Mr Trump plans to sign the orders on Wednesday (US time) near Houston at an International Union of Operating Engineers’ training centre, highlighting organised labor’s support for overhauls that would speed up permitting. Oil and gas, and other major trade groups have also pressed for change, and some cheered the expected orders’ announcement Tuesday even despite its potential limitations.

“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, leader of the American Gas Association, a trade group for natural-gas distribution companies. “These executive orders clear the way for development.” One order directs the Environmental Protection Agency to review and update guidance on the Clean Water Act to limit state authority, the administration official said. It also directs the Transportation Department to update rules for natural-gas shipping and export, among other things.

A second order seeks to clarify presidential power and limit environmental reviews on pipelines that cross the country’s international borders.

The first order also directs the Labor Department to scrutinise whether retirement funds that pursue environmental or socially progressive investment strategies are fulfilling their duty to maximise shareholder value.

Limiting shareholder resolutions related to environmental concerns, specifically climate change, has been a priority for energy companies in recent years, particularly following a 2017 vote by Exxon Mobil shareholders that forced the oil and gas giant to report on how climate change would impact its business.

The Wall Street Journal