Trump Order Fast-Tracks Projects That Would Damage Wetlands, Environmental Groups Say

The executive order declared a “National Energy Emergency” and directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to act swiftly on project reviews.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has marked for fast-track review more than 600 permit applications for projects under President Donald Trump’s “Declaring a National Energy Emergency” executive order that would disturb critical wetlands and waterways, environmental groups warned Wednesday.

The projects include a 37-mile crude oil pipeline in Louisiana that would affect some 234 acres of wetlands, including marshes near the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge. Another project involves a crude oil pipeline beneath Lake Michigan, a drinking water source for more than 10 million people.

Some of the projects appear to have nothing to do with energy, according to the Environmental Integrity Project, an advocacy group focused on the enforcement of environmental laws. In Idaho, for example, 145 acres of wetlands and 21 miles of streams in the Payette National Forest would be affected in the construction of the Stibnite Gold Mine Project, to extract gold, silver and antimony.

“This is a false emergency,” said Kristen Schlemmer, senior legal director and waterkeeper with Bayou City Waterkeeper in Houston, part of the worldwide Waterkeeper Alliance. “This is going to lock in more climate change harms at a time when we need to be taking major action.”

Trump signed the executive order on his first day in office, directing the Army Corps “to use, to the fullest extent possible and consistent with applicable law, the emergency Army Corps permitting provisions to facilitate the Nation’s energy supply.” Per the order, heads of all agencies and the secretary of the Army were to identify projects “that may be subject to emergency treatment” within 30 days. The Army Corps conducts wetlands and waterways impact reviews under the Clean Water Act.

“The Department of Defense will fully execute and implement all directives outlined in the executive orders issued by the President, ensuring that they are carried out with the utmost professionalism, efficiency, and in alignment with national security objectives,” according to a statement the Army Corps provided to Inside Climate News.

“Executive Order 14156: Declaring a National Energy Emergency requires the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works to take certain actions, and we will work with the new administration to implement the Order’s requirements,” the agency said.

Many of the projects marked for fast-track review are fossil-fuel based, involving pipelines, gas-fired power plants and electric transmission lines, the Environmental Integrity Project said. Most are in West Virginia (141), Pennsylvania (60), Texas (57), Florida (42) and Ohio (41).

Scientists agree that stemming human-caused emissions and limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels is necessary to avoid the worst consequences of climate change and impacts such as hotter temperatures, rising seas and more damaging hurricanes.

“He’s telling the Corps of Engineers that it’s OK to cut down on the amount of public notice, the amount of public comment and the amount of time the Corps takes to review permits, which are used to fill wetlands and waterways in the United States,” said David Bookbinder, director of law and policy at the Environmental Integrity Project.  

He anticipated legal challenges based on individual permit applications. The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental advocacy group, on Thursday filed a notice of its intent to sue the Army Corps over the agency’s rush to advance projects, arguing the action violated the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act. 

“We can always make the argument that there is in fact no energy emergency,” Bookbinder said. “We’re the world’s largest producer of natural gas. We’re the world’s largest producer of crude oil. It’s kind of hard to see how we have an energy emergency in the United States.”

Cover photo:  A fish biologist collects samples from a river in Idaho’s Payette National Forest. Credit: Kelly Martin/U.S. Forest Service