By Valerie Volcovici
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Army Corps of Engineers has identified over 600 energy and other infrastructure projects that could be fast-tracked under President Donald Trump’s National Energy Emergency declaration, according to data posted on its website.
Among the projects on the list were Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline under Lake Michigan, several natural gas power plants, and liqufied natural gas export terminals proposed by Cheniere and Venture Global.
The Army Corps posted the list – without sending a public notice – last week, marking the projects as eligible for emergency permitting treatment.
Trump had ordered the Army Corps to issue permits enabling the filling of wetlands and dredging or building in waterways as part of the “National Energy Emergency” he declared in a day-one executive order.
The Army Corps was not immediately available for comment.
The fast-tracking of these projects could trigger legal fights, with environmental groups warning they are flouting federal laws.
“This end-run around the normal environmental review process is not only harmful for our waters, but is illegal under the Corps’ own emergency permitting regulations,” said David Bookbinder, Director of Law and Policy at The Environmental Integrity Project.
Companies with projects awaiting key permits applauded the move to “streamline” the review process.
“We are very encouraged to see this action to expedite review for responsible critical mineral development projects,” said Jon Cherry, CEO of Perpetua Resources, which is developing a U.S. antimony and gold mine in Idaho with financial support from the Pentagon and U.S. Export-Import Bank.
The Biden administration had issued the mine a permit, but it still needs a wetlands permit, which Cherry said he expects to receive by July.
West Virginia has the largest number of projects on the list at 141. There 60 in Pennsylvania, 57 in Texas, 42 in Florida, 41 in Ohio, according to the Environmental Integrity Project, which is tracking the permits.
Officials at Enbridge, Venture Global, and Cheniere were not immediately available to comment.
(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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