President Donald Trump's administration is citing an "energy emergency" as the basis to fast-track nearly 700 water permits, including those tied to a tunnel for Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline, LNG infrastructure projects, solar farms and electric transmission lines.
Trump declared a national energy emergency on his first day in office, unlocking permitting powers that are typically used in response to natural disasters. The US Army Corps of Engineers has subsequently reclassified hundreds of permit applications for review under expedited emergency procedures, in a move that environmentalists say they plan to challenge in court based on violations of the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act.
"The Trump administration is planning to skirt legally-required review processes in order to fast-track permits for dirty energy projects under the guise of an energy ‘emergency'", Sierra Club policy director Mahyar Sorour said.
The Corps is responsible for issuing water permits for projects that cross streams, rivers, wetlands and other water bodies. Issuing permits sometimes requires the agency to prepare a detailed environmental review that is open to comment and can take years to finish.
The water permits classified for emergency treatment include a repair project for Sabine Pass LNG in Louisiana, dredging for Elba Island LNG in Georgia, temporary construction related to Port Arthur LNG in Texas, solar projects in dozens of states, and pipeline projects ExxonMobil is pursuing in Texas. Enbridge delayed construction of a protective tunnel for its Line 5 pipeline to 2026 because of water permitting delays.
But environmentalists say the administration cannot cite an energy emergency — which they say does not exist — as justification to bypass permitting rules prescribed by the US Congress. The Corps has also provided emergency treatment to projects with no apparent connection to energy production, such as a housing project in southern California and a gold mine in Idaho, according to an online database.
The Corps did not respond to detailed questions but said it was "in the process of reviewing active permit applications relative to the executive order."
Congress is continuing to lay groundwork for a bipartisan permitting bill that supporters say could make it faster and cheaper to build pipelines, power plants, electric transmission lines, renewable energy projects and transportation infrastructure. But Democratic leaders are threatening to vote against such a bill so long as Trump continues to "pause" billions of dollars in funding for clean energy projects provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and other laws.
"Until the administration shows it will honor its oath to faithfully and impartially execute the laws, we can have zero confidence that any legislative compromise on permitting reform will be executed lawfully," US senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) said at a permitting hearing on 19 February.
Oil industry and renewable groups are continuing to push for a comprehensive permitting bill, which they say would bring down project costs and help the US meet surging electricity demand from data centers and manufacturers.
Permitting changes are "needed for all technologies, and they are needed to meet our energy demand in the future," Business Council for Sustainable Energy president Lisa Jacobson said. "You can't walk away from those facts or that imperative."
