WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is promising expedited federal approvals for energy projects and other construction worth more than $1 billion. But like other Trump plans, the idea is likely to face regulatory and legislative hurdles, including a landmark law that requires federal agencies to consider environmental impacts before deciding on major projects.
In a post on his Truth Social website on Tuesday, Trump said anyone making a $1 billion investment in the United States will receive “fully expedited approvals and approvals, including, but by no means restricted to, of all environmental permits.”
“Get ready to rock!!!” he added.
While Trump did not specify who would be eligible for expedited approvals, dozens of energy projects proposed nationwide, from natural gas pipelines and export terminals to solar farms and offshore wind turbines, meet the billion-dollar criteria.
Environmental groups criticized the proposal, calling it prima facie illegal and a clear violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, a 54-year-old law that requires federal agencies to study the potential environmental impacts of proposed actions and consider alternatives.
“Trump is blatantly and literally offering to sell America to the highest bidder,” said Lena Moffitt, executive director of Evergreen Action, an environmental group. She said the plan was “patently illegal” and another example of Trump “putting special interests and corporate polluters in charge, which would lead to more pollution, higher costs and fewer energy options for the American people.”
Alexandra Adams, chief policy advocacy officer at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said Trump should be careful what he wishes for.
“What if someone wanted to build a waste incinerator next to Mar-a-Lago or a coal mine next to Bedminster Golf Course?” she asked, referring to Trump’s Florida home and New Jersey golf club, respectively.
“There’s a reason Congress requires the government to closely examine community impacts to ensure we don’t approve projects that do more harm than good. Cheerleading on social media doesn’t change that reality,” Adams said.
Energy analyst Kevin Book said Trump’s post showed his usual flair for sensationalism, but said there was a real concern underlying it: a bipartisan push to allow reforms to speed up major environmental projects that now take years to approve.
“The takeaway here is that he is really serious about trying to push through permitting reform,” said Book, managing partner at ClearView Energy Partners, a Washington research firm.
“Delays in approvals are hampering many sectors – including energy – and there are several multi-billion dollar investments awaiting approval of reforms,” Book said.
A bipartisan plan championed by Senate Energy Committee Chairman Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the committee’s top Republican, would speed up approvals for major energy and mineral projects, but its chances are uncertain in the final weeks of Congress.
Their plan would boost energy projects of all kinds, lower prices, create domestic jobs and allow the U.S. to continue to be a global energy leader, Barrasso and Manchin say.
Critics say the bill would open up huge tracts of public lands and waters to oil and gas drilling and to executive and judicial review.
“Checking off wish lists for oil, gas and mining companies does not allow for reform,” said Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee. He called the bill “a dirty deal” that would exempt some oil and gas drilling projects from federal review and “let mining companies dump even more toxic waste on our public lands.”
Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, said Trump’s second term will be a “golden age of regulatory cuts,” including the promise of “drill, baby, drill.”
“If you want to bring money in, he will move heaven and earth to get that money in the door and invest it in the United States,” Miller said Tuesday at a conference organized by the Wall Street Journal.
The plan applies to both domestic and foreign investment, Miller said: “He wants to get the money and he wants to cut regulations and get the economy going again.”
In the miniature term, Trump’s post makes approval of reforms this year less likely, Book said, as Republicans will try to wait until next year to control both chambers of Congress and the White House. But the topic is likely to come up again quickly in the fresh year.
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Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this story.
