Shannon Van Hoesen, shannon.vanhoesen@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC - A number of federal agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers, are beginning to detail plans to fast-track unnecessary, dirty energy infrastructure projects without sufficient review. Agencies were directed to complete reports within 30 days by Donald Trump’s executive order declaring an energy emergency. Projects that could be rushed through without proper review range from LNG export facilities along the Gulf Coast that harm local communities and drive up consumer energy prices to highly controversial pipelines like Line 5, which ships Canadian oil through the Great Lakes and back to Canada threatening the safety of the drinking water supply for 40 million people.
Through this executive order, the Trump administration is seeking to disregard clean air and water safeguards to fast-track permits for fossil fuels, despite the fact that the United States is already the largest oil producer and gas exporter in the world. At the same time, the executive order seeks to undermine standards that save energy and hampers America’s ability to generate clean, renewable energy.
Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) have introduced legislation that would repeal the “sham” energy emergency executive order.
In response, Sierra Club Director of Beyond Fossil Fuels Policy Mahyar Sorour released the following statement:
“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.’ In reality, this move prioritizes corporate polluter handouts regardless of the fallout for the environment, public health, or consumers. As a result, Americans will suffer from dirty air and water and higher energy prices while the fossil fuel industry reaps its rewards. The real energy emergency is Trump’s commitment to deepening our reliance on volatile, dangerous fossil fuels while cutting off investment in clean, affordable energy.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.