https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/02/16/warnings-mount-trumps-infrastructure-plan-will-make-it-harder-fight-pipelines
[images and links in on-line article]
Published on Friday, February 16, 2018
by Common Dreams
Warnings Mount That Trump's Infrastructure Plan Will Make It Harder to
Fight Pipelines
The president's proposal "could be a significant blow to the slew of
protesters who spent years agitating against the Keystone XL pipeline
and more recently the Dakota Access one."
by Jessica Corbett, staff writer
As green groups continue to denounce the Trump administration's recently
unveiled infrastructure plan as a "scam" that's designed to keep the
nation trapped in its "dirty and destructive past," analysts are also
warning the proposal will "make it harder for the next big anti-pipeline
movement" to launch successful legal challenges to new fossil fuel projects.
The plan aims to not only fast-track the construction of more pipelines
across the U.S., but also to limit "the legal options available to
lawyers at environmental groups opposed to new fossil fuel
infrastructure" in part by changing "the standard under which a pipeline
project could be temporarily halted by a judge," as Dino Gradoni
explains in a Washington Post piece published Friday.
Trump also wants Congress to rewrite long-standing environmental laws
that allow for lawsuits challenging permits. Gradoni notes that although
the administration's desire for that specific revision by lawmakers may
be a bit of a "pipe dream," enacting barriers to launching legal
challenges against pipeline projects "could be a significant blow to the
slew of protesters who spent years agitating against the Keystone XL
pipeline and more recently the Dakota Access one."
Additionally, as just the latest development in the Trump
administration's long-term pursuit of "American energy dominance"
through the exploitation of "vast amounts" of energy reserves on public
lands, the infrastructure plan proposes allowing Interior Department
Secretary Ryan Zinke to approve the construction of pipelines through
national parks. Currently, only acts of Congress can do that.
The environmental group 350.org has launched a campaign to pressure
members of Congress to oppose Trump's plan, which they describe as a
"climate-wrecking pipeline bonanza." In a drafted letter to senators,
the group declares, "This proposal would trample over Indigenous rights
to pave the way for a fossil fuel frenzy, and would even let Big Oil
build pipelines through national parks."
"And Trump wants to pay for this pipeline bonanza with deep cuts to
essential programs like food assistance and Medicaid—a cruel attack on
America's most vulnerable communities—and by forcing taxpayers in
cash-strapped cities and states to pick up most of the tab. That's
unacceptable," the letter continues, calling on Congress to advocate for
an infrastructure deal "that creates millions of jobs and helps build
the 100 percent renewable energy-powered world we need."
