NEPA reform harmful to communities

 How in the world would you go home and explain it? 

"Even if your project doesn’t meet environmental reviews, even if it’s not fiscally responsible, even if it’s not going to meet any standard of economic development, you still might get it through" IF you can convince Congress to fast track permitting.

Congress seeks to attach reforms to NEPA in its annual budget vote this month.

The proposed NEPA reforms do not protect the environment, do not protect the affected communities, and do not increase domestic supply. The majority of the energy sector projects expecting full congressional favor from the proposed bill are for exports. 

This so called Energy Independence and Security Act makes oil and gas and other energy companies independent of existing regulations that currently require comprehensive environmental review. This handshake deal for pet projects in certain States would allow a fast tracking permit process for a West Virginia pipeline for EXPORTS. As utilities move beyond coal to natural gas, the Republicans in Congress were successful in lifting the ban on oil and gas exports. And as Rick Perry described in 2015, the way to teach Russia a lesson is to flood the European market with LNG. The growing profits in the international market spurred the rush for Mountain Valley to secure a permit for the West Virginia section of its pipeline. Without the permit, MV is not able to finalize contracts with international shippers (based on reporting by Bloomberg Law). More recently, Putin's War in Ukraine and Russian sanctions have caused global spikes in prices for natural gas. As the US exports more, prices rise State-side.

"The 91-page bill would set a two-year target for National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, reviews for major energy and natural resource projects that require a full environmental impact statement and reviews from more than one federal agency. The target would drop to one year for projects that require a less thorough environmental assessment, with the issuance of all other permits due within 180 days of finishing the NEPA process."  -- Molly Christian, Zack Hale, Maya Weber  S&P Global Manchin Releases Long Awaited Bill

This is not good for any of us to allow Congress to decide which projects can avoid full NEPA reviews, and which jurisdiction would hear motions to oppose and or appeals for a specific project. 

TARA HOUSKA: "It, to me, says you’ve got a project that has not passed environmental review. It’s a project that funders and investors are very concerned about. It’s a project that’s bad all the way around and just cannot get momentum and get it going. And here you see Congress just deciding, “Oh, you know what? We’re going to give it a pass,” and specifically this project, so, setting this precedent of, well, even if your project doesn’t meet environmental reviews, even if it’s not fiscally responsible, even if it’s not going to meet any standard of economic development, you still might get it through. That’s what this precedent is saying."  -- -From a recent interview with Democracy Now   .