Another big win for Trump.
http://m.townhall.com/tipsheet/chri...rump-approves-dakota-access-pipeline-n2282820
http://m.townhall.com/tipsheet/chri...rump-approves-dakota-access-pipeline-n2282820
Army approves Dakota access pipeline
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http://thehill.com/policy/energy-en...ht-energy-trump-admin-moves-dakota-access-one
Overnight Energy: Trump admin moves Dakota Access one step closer to completion
TRUMP GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO DAKOTA ACCESS: The Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday it will grant the final easement necessary for the completion of the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline.
The news from the Army Corps, in letters to Congress and a federal filing, comes after President Trump ordered the agency to quickly approve the pipeline.
Army officials said they would issue the easement necessary to build a stretch of the pipeline in North Dakota, and not complete a lengthy environmental impact statement on the project, something the Obama administration ordered last year.
The decision is a victory for Dakota Access developers and the oil industry, which strongly opposed Obama administration efforts to slow down and eventually delay the project.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe opposes the pipeline, which runs close to its reservation land in North Dakota. The tribe’s attorney, Earthjustice lawyer Jan Hasselman, said Tuesday that the administration’s action is illegal and he threatened further court action over it.
“Trump and his administration will be held accountable in court,” he said.
GOP WANTS THE ‘EPA GREAT AGAIN’: A House chairman on Tuesday said he expects the Trump administration to “right the ship” at the Environmental Protection Agency, overhauling how federal regulators use science in their rulemaking.
“Legitimate science should underlie all actions at the agency, from research to regulations, and be an integral part of justifying their actions,” Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said during a Tuesday hearing that he dubbed “Making EPA Great Again.”
“Unfortunately, over the last eight years, the EPA has pursued a political agenda, not a scientific one.”
Smith said he would push for legislation to provide more public scrutiny of the science underpinning EPA rules, something the GOP has long pushed for, but a measure opposed by Democrats.
“I’m disappointed, but not really surprised, that the very first hearing of this [committee] will be focused on attacking the Environmental Protection Agency, as was so often the theme of our hearings the last Congress,” said Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas), the Science Committee’s top Democrat.
The hearing comes as lawmakers prepare to debate the future of the EPA under Trump and his administrator pick, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt. The GOP hopes the pair will rein in agency regulations expanded during the Obama administration, and Trump advisers have pushed for deep spending cuts at the EPA.
HOUSE BLOCKS PUBLIC LAND MANAGEMENT RULE: The House passed a resolution on Tuesday to undo an Obama administration land planning rule that opponents say gives too much power to the federal government.
Members voted 234-186 to use the Congressional Review Act to stop the Bureau of Land Management’s Planning 2.0 rule in its tracks.
Overnight Energy: Trump admin moves Dakota Access one step closer to completion
TRUMP GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO DAKOTA ACCESS: The Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday it will grant the final easement necessary for the completion of the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline.
The news from the Army Corps, in letters to Congress and a federal filing, comes after President Trump ordered the agency to quickly approve the pipeline.
Army officials said they would issue the easement necessary to build a stretch of the pipeline in North Dakota, and not complete a lengthy environmental impact statement on the project, something the Obama administration ordered last year.
The decision is a victory for Dakota Access developers and the oil industry, which strongly opposed Obama administration efforts to slow down and eventually delay the project.
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe opposes the pipeline, which runs close to its reservation land in North Dakota. The tribe’s attorney, Earthjustice lawyer Jan Hasselman, said Tuesday that the administration’s action is illegal and he threatened further court action over it.
“Trump and his administration will be held accountable in court,” he said.
GOP WANTS THE ‘EPA GREAT AGAIN’: A House chairman on Tuesday said he expects the Trump administration to “right the ship” at the Environmental Protection Agency, overhauling how federal regulators use science in their rulemaking.
“Legitimate science should underlie all actions at the agency, from research to regulations, and be an integral part of justifying their actions,” Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said during a Tuesday hearing that he dubbed “Making EPA Great Again.”
“Unfortunately, over the last eight years, the EPA has pursued a political agenda, not a scientific one.”
Smith said he would push for legislation to provide more public scrutiny of the science underpinning EPA rules, something the GOP has long pushed for, but a measure opposed by Democrats.
“I’m disappointed, but not really surprised, that the very first hearing of this [committee] will be focused on attacking the Environmental Protection Agency, as was so often the theme of our hearings the last Congress,” said Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas), the Science Committee’s top Democrat.
The hearing comes as lawmakers prepare to debate the future of the EPA under Trump and his administrator pick, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt. The GOP hopes the pair will rein in agency regulations expanded during the Obama administration, and Trump advisers have pushed for deep spending cuts at the EPA.
HOUSE BLOCKS PUBLIC LAND MANAGEMENT RULE: The House passed a resolution on Tuesday to undo an Obama administration land planning rule that opponents say gives too much power to the federal government.
Members voted 234-186 to use the Congressional Review Act to stop the Bureau of Land Management’s Planning 2.0 rule in its tracks.
I'm certainly no expert on this situation and I'm not close to it but I'll convey my understanding of where it is.
Basically, the USACE was told by the Sec of Army they will grant the easement. I don't think it relieves the requirement to comply with NEPA requirements since NEPA was reopened. Additional tribal consultation will be required.
I will say this, which I do know about; USACE is inconsistent across the US, not allowing pipelines to go under their dams and reservoirs in many locations for obvious safety reasons and allowing it other places.