President Trump signed on April 10 two executive orders to prevent states from blocking the construction of oil and gas pipelines.
Toluse Olorunnipa & Steven Mufson report for the Washington Post
April 10 at 6:05 PM
CROSBY, Tex. — President Trump signed a pair of executive orders on Wednesday seeking to make it easier for firms to build oil and gas pipelines and harder for state agencies to intervene, a move that drew immediate backlash from some state officials and environmental activists.
“Too often, badly needed energy infrastructure is being held back by special-interest groups, entrenched bureaucracies and radical activists,” Trump said during a visit to a union training center for operating engineers 25 miles outside of Houston. “The two executive orders that I’ll be signing in just a moment will fix this, dramatically accelerating energy infrastructure approvals.”
The executive action seeks to rein in states’ power by changing the implementation instructions, known as guidance, that are issued by federal agencies, according to one of the orders.
That order also requires the Transportation Department to change its rules to allow the shipment of liquefied natural gas by rail and tanker truck. And it seeks to limit shareholder ballot initiatives designed to alter companies’ policies on environmental and social issues. Trump’s order requires the Labor Department to examine whether retirement funds that pursue those investment strategies are meeting their responsibility to maximize returns.
A second order, focused on cross-border energy projects, would clarify that the president is solely responsible for approving or denying pipelines and other infrastructure that cross international boundaries. The secretary of state has previously played that role.
Critics said the president’s orders on pipelines would trample on authority delegated to the states under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act and other congressional legislation. That authority has been upheld twice by the Supreme Court. Trump’s move would benefit, among other companies, Energy Transfer, whose chief executive, Kelcy Warren, was a major contributor to Trump’s campaign.
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