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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Trump administration is seeking to expedite the construction of billions of dollars of proposed projects on federal lands in the Power, Metals and Minerals Minerals and Oil & Gas Production and Pipelines industries pursuant to an executive order issued by the president in June that seeks to accelerate infrastructure spending during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Executive Order 13927, issued June 4, instructed federal agencies, including the Department of the Interior, Defense Department, Army Corps of Engineers, Agriculture Department and the Transportation Department, to "take all reasonable measures to speed infrastructure investments and to speed other actions in addition to such investments that will strengthen the economy and return Americans to work, while providing appropriate protection for public health and safety, natural resources, and the environment, as required by law."
The agencies were instructed to make their initial reports within 30 days, and to make monthly reports thereafter as long as the national emergency triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic lasts.
The Center for Biological Diversity (Tucson, Arizona) filed a Freedom of Information lawsuit seeking documents filed by all federal agencies pursuant to this executive order. Earlier this month, the group released a July 15 letter from the deputy secretary of the Interior Department to Larry Kudlow, assistant to the president for economic policy, which lists dozens of projects on public lands for which the agency is trying to expedite construction. The Associated Press first broke this story. The Interior Department manages an estimated 450 million acres of public land across the U.S.
This list likely is only the first of many to come, as responses from the Defense Department, Army Corps of Engineers, Agriculture Department and Transportation Department have not, as yet, been released. Nor have the post-July monthly reports from Interior and the agencies been obtained.
But the July 15 letter from the Interior Department lists dozens of projects in the Power, Metals & Minerals, Oil & Gas Production and Pipelines industries the agency is expediting. The list includes these projects:
In her July 15 letter, Deputy Interior Secretary Katharine Sinclair MacGregor wrote, "I am pleased to report that the (Interior) Department has developed multiple mechanisms for reducing the time required for environmental reviews on all projects where we are either the lead or a cooperating agency." She added that Interior has been working on streamlining environmental reviews since the start of the current administration.
"The Department continues to look for and implement efficiencies that will help strengthen the economy and return Americans to work, while providing appropriate protections for public health and safety, natural resources and the environment," she concluded.
Trump has sought to expedite construction of energy and infrastructure projects, arguing environmental laws and permitting requirements unnecessarily delay project starts and deprive workers of jobs. Many of his efforts have been reversed by federal courts. Earlier this summer, he unveiled final changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the nation's 50-year-old bedrock environmental protection law. For more on that, see July 17, 2020, article - Trump Administration Finalizes Changes to Major Environmental Law.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook-Twitter-LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.
Executive Order 13927, issued June 4, instructed federal agencies, including the Department of the Interior, Defense Department, Army Corps of Engineers, Agriculture Department and the Transportation Department, to "take all reasonable measures to speed infrastructure investments and to speed other actions in addition to such investments that will strengthen the economy and return Americans to work, while providing appropriate protection for public health and safety, natural resources, and the environment, as required by law."
The agencies were instructed to make their initial reports within 30 days, and to make monthly reports thereafter as long as the national emergency triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic lasts.
The Center for Biological Diversity (Tucson, Arizona) filed a Freedom of Information lawsuit seeking documents filed by all federal agencies pursuant to this executive order. Earlier this month, the group released a July 15 letter from the deputy secretary of the Interior Department to Larry Kudlow, assistant to the president for economic policy, which lists dozens of projects on public lands for which the agency is trying to expedite construction. The Associated Press first broke this story. The Interior Department manages an estimated 450 million acres of public land across the U.S.
This list likely is only the first of many to come, as responses from the Defense Department, Army Corps of Engineers, Agriculture Department and Transportation Department have not, as yet, been released. Nor have the post-July monthly reports from Interior and the agencies been obtained.
But the July 15 letter from the Interior Department lists dozens of projects in the Power, Metals & Minerals, Oil & Gas Production and Pipelines industries the agency is expediting. The list includes these projects:
- Lovelock Rochester Above-Ground Silver and Gold Mine, a $400 million project in Lovelock, Nevada
- Campo Wind Farm, a 252-megawatt (MW), $480 million wind farm near San Diego
- Gemini Photovoltaic Solar Plant, a 440-MW, $726 million project near Las Vegas, Nevada
- Borderlands Windfarm, a 100-MW, $165-milion wind project in New Mexico
- RE Crimson PV Solar Park, a 225-MW, $412-million solar project scheduled to be built near Blythe, California
- Yellow Pine PV Solar Plant, a 250-MW, $400-million solar project in Nevada
- Vineyard Offshore Windfarm, a $400-million, $800-million offshore windfarm developers want to build off the coast of Massachusetts
- Orovada Thacker Pass Above-Ground Lithium Carbonate Mine, a $581-million project slated to be built in Nevada
- Jordan Cove LNG Liquefaction Plant, an $8 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal that developers want to build in Oregon
In her July 15 letter, Deputy Interior Secretary Katharine Sinclair MacGregor wrote, "I am pleased to report that the (Interior) Department has developed multiple mechanisms for reducing the time required for environmental reviews on all projects where we are either the lead or a cooperating agency." She added that Interior has been working on streamlining environmental reviews since the start of the current administration.
"The Department continues to look for and implement efficiencies that will help strengthen the economy and return Americans to work, while providing appropriate protections for public health and safety, natural resources and the environment," she concluded.
Trump has sought to expedite construction of energy and infrastructure projects, arguing environmental laws and permitting requirements unnecessarily delay project starts and deprive workers of jobs. Many of his efforts have been reversed by federal courts. Earlier this summer, he unveiled final changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the nation's 50-year-old bedrock environmental protection law. For more on that, see July 17, 2020, article - Trump Administration Finalizes Changes to Major Environmental Law.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook-Twitter-LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.
