The Trump administration’s infrastructure proposal released on Monday would speed up the permitting of U.S. natural gas pipelines, including by cutting Congress out of the process for allowing them to cross national parks.
The proposal fits into President Donald Trump’s broader plan to boost U.S. oil and gas development by slashing red tape, something that has cheered industry but raised concerns among environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers.
“At its core the proposal plans to steamroll as many projects to get to yes as fast as possible whether or not there is a robust environmental review,” said Brett Hartl, government affairs director of the Center for Biological Diversity.
The $1.5 trillion infrastructure proposal would give the interior secretary the authority to approve natural gas pipelines that cross the country’s national parks, changing the requirement that Congress authorize such projects.
The proposals are part of a larger infrastructure plan designed to encourage spending on improvements by states, localities and private investors but which faces an uphill battle in Congress.
The administration said it wanted environmental reviews for major projects to take no longer than 21 months – instead of years - and direct one federal agency rather than several different agencies to conduct the review.
Reference: Reuters
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