US Army Corps seeks to fast-track 600 projects through environmental review
The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) 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 and LNG export terminals proposed by Cheniere and Venture Global.
USACE posted the list 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 a national energy emergency he declared in a day-one executive order.
USACE was not immediately available for comment. The fast-tracking of these projects could trigger legal fights over many of the permits that will be issued, with environmental groups warning they are flouting federal laws.
Companies with projects awaiting key permits applauded the move to "streamline" the review process.
"Line 5 is critical energy infrastructure," said Enbridge spokesperson Gina Sutherland, saying the company has been awaiting a permit for building a Great Lakes Tunnel under Lake Michigan for nearly five years.
"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 US antimony and gold mine in Idaho with financial support from the Pentagon and the US 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.
Energy emergency
USACE has in the past issued emergency designations to skip over environmental reviews in cases in which the project addressed threats to human life.
Activist groups say that most of the projects marked as emergencies on the list do not meet the army corps' definition of an emergency and also question the Trump administration's justification for declaring a national energy emergency.
"It is laughable to see Line 5 on this list," said Debbie Chizewer, Managing Attorney of Earthjustice's Midwest Office, who represents the Bay Mills Indian Community in opposition of the project.
"It's a pipeline that carries crude oil from Canada to Canada and will not increase US capacity or respond to Trump's declared energy emergency."
West Virginia has the largest number of projects on the list at 141. There are 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 Venture Global and Cheniere were not immediately available to comment.
(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder, Amanda Stephenson, Nichola Groom and Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
