American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2022 - 12

IndustryDigest
U.S. Supreme Court
Restores Trump-Era Rule
On Interstate Projects
WASHINGTON-The U.S. Supreme
Court in early April temporarily revived
a regulation the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency issued in 2020 to
limit states' and tribes' ability to block
pipeline projects.
The rule was vacated last autumn
through a ruling by Federal Judge
William Alsup for the Northern District
of California in a lawsuit brought by a
coalition of 21 states attorneys general,
tribes and conservation groups (AOGR,
November 2021, pg. 16).
The high court's April 6 decision
was issued in an emergency docket,
which determines issues without a full
briefing schedule and oral arguments,
press accounts note. Court documents
indicate that Justice Elena Kagan wrote
the dissent for the minority, which was
joined by justices Steven Breyer, Sonia
Sotomayor and Chief Justice John
Roberts, and claimed applicants failed
to substantiate their claims of
irreparable harm, and therefore did not
warrant emergency relief.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff
Landry, whose office helped lead the
lawsuit in Louisiana et al. v. American
Rivers, et. al, deemed the Supreme
Court decision a victory for farmers,
developers and other landowners. " I
remain committed to upholding the
Trump pro-business, pro-job legacy of
regulation reduction and reform, "
Landry says. " The Supreme Court
ensured those rules would stay in place. "
The 2020 regulation was
promulgated to prevent states from
using their authority under Section
401(d) of the Clean Water Act to stymie
interstate pipeline projects. The Trump
administration described the revisions
as a way to keep other jurisdictions
from indefinitely delaying or blocking
infrastructure projects and return CWA
certification to its original purpose
(AOGR, June 2020, pg. 24).
Congressmen Sam Graves, R-Mo.,
and David Rouzer, R-N.C., applaud the
decision because, they assess, some
states and anti-development groups
have weaponized section 401 to block
energy and infrastructure projects. The
court was right to stay Alsup's 2021
ruling because it dramatically rebroadened
the scope of the Section 401
12 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER
process beyond its intended purpose and
provided project opponents another
regulatory weapon against new
infrastructure, they say.
Therefore, the congressmen claim,
the Supreme Court's decision prevents
anti-development groups from relying
on liberal federal judges to prematurely
eliminate rules adopted by previous
administrations. " The court's decision
to reinstate the Trump administration's
rule is a victory for the reasonable
protection of our waters that also allows
for much needed energy and
infrastructure projects to move forward,
and it's a win for farmers as well, "
Graves states. " This rule is crucial to
prevent liberal states from vetoing
projects of national significance, like
the pipelines that deliver affordable gas
to all corners of the country and prevent
an overreliance on fuel from countries
like Russia. "
" The court is right in its decision to
reinstate the Trump-era rule to protect
water quality but prevent abuse,
unnecessary delays and politicization of
certain infrastructure projects involving
CWA Section 401 certification, " Rouzer
affirms. " New critical energy
infrastructure projects are desperately
needed for America to return to energy
independence. This ruling brings some
common sense back to the regulatory
process so that these projects aren't
denied simply because of political
agendas. "
Nevertheless, press accounts note,
the Biden administration has expressed
plans to introduce a new rule on the
matter in spring 2023. ❒
Alaska Senators
Decry BLM's Move To
Shrink NPR-A Offering
WASHINGTON-Both of Alaska's
senators are slamming the U.S.
Bureau of Land Management's April
26 move to revert the National
Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A)
to the 2013 version of its Integrated
Activity Plan (IAP).
According to senators Lisa
Murkowski, R-Ak., and Dan Sullivan,
R-Ak., the Biden administration's
move, which implements a plan it
announced at the beginning of the
year, abandons the 2020 version of the
IAP, which was developed in
partnership with the North Slope
Borough and in consultation with
North Slope tribes and Alaska native
corporations. The senators noted that it
came mere weeks after President
Biden pledged to " work like the devil
to bring gas prices down. "
BLM's move puts millions of NPR-A
acres off limits to potential drilling,
media reports say, with the Obama-era
plan leaving slightly more than 50% of
the NPR-A open for industry
exploration, while the Trump plan
sought to open about 80% to
exploration.
" We need more domestic resource
development, and areas explicitly
designated for that purpose should be at
the top of the list, not on the chopping
block. It is simply shocking that the
Biden administration can look at the
world and decide that Alaska is where
'keep it in the ground' should apply, "
Murkowski states. " This decision also
flies in the face of many of the Alaska
natives who live on the North Slope,
who participated in the 2020 plan
update and who supported its
finalization. The administration is
choosing to ignore them, while giving
outside environmental groups
everything they want. "
" The BLM has 25 million acres of
land nationwide available for oil
development, 23 million of which are in
the NPR-A " Sullivan observes. " I have
long urged the president to cut the
gimmicks and tap this true 'strategic
petroleum reserve,' which is teeming
with reserves ready to alleviate some of
our nation's dire energy needs.
" President Biden doubled down on
his failed policies, removing half of this
federally-established oil and gas reserve
from consideration and-even more
recklessly-specifically removing areas
with the greatest potential for actual
production, " Sullivan adds. " This
decision will prolong the pain for
hardworking Americans and tighten
Vladimir Putin's grip over our allies.
We now know record inflation,
unprecedented gas prices, and a despot
wielding vast sums of the world's
petroleum supply will not deter Joe
Biden in his relentless war on American
energy production. "
BLM manages the NPR-A under the
Naval Petroleum Reserves Production
Act and other federal laws, the senators
note. The U.S. Geological Survey
American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2022

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