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Trump Signs Executive Orders To Boost Pipeline Construction

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Wikimedia Commons
A section of pipe waits to be laid in the ground. One of the executive orders, signed on Wednesday, April 10th, is aimed at preventing states from using the Clean Water Act to deny pipeline construction permits.

President Trump signed two executive orders on Wednesday aimed at making it easier for oil and gas companies to build pipelines.

In recent years, some states - like New York - have prevented pipelines from being built by claiming the oil and gas they move could threaten nearby waterways.

One of Trump’s executive orders focuses on speeding up pipeline projects by making it harder for states to stop them on environmental grounds. It asks the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review how states apply environmental rules to pipelines.

Eric Smith, Director of the Energy Institute at Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business, says that could mean more pipelines and more oil flowing to Louisiana from places like Canada.

“We have plenty of oil,” says Smith, “it's just not the heavy sour crude that our [Louisiana] refineries need.”

Crude oil is classified on a scale from “very light” to “heavy.” Smith says most of the heavy stuff comes to Louisiana by boat from Central American countries like Mexico and Ecuador, and that connecting to Canadian pipelines would make refineries’ operations much more efficient.

Still, he says that executive order is somewhat symbolic, since it is likely to face legal challenges and could be reversed by a future president.

The other executive order gives the President of the United States the final say about whether to approve pipelines that cross international borders -- like the controversial Keystone XL pipeline that would cross the Canadian border. That power was previously held by the Secretary of State.

Support for the Coastal Desk comes from the Walton Family Foundation, the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Foundation for Louisiana, and local listeners.

As Coastal Reporter, Travis Lux covers flood protection, coastal restoration, infrastructure, the energy and seafood industries, and the environment. In this role he's reported on everything from pipeline protests in the Atchafalaya swamp, to how shrimpers cope with low prices. He had a big hand in producing the series, New Orleans: Ready Or Not?, which examined how prepared New Orleans is for a future with more extreme weather. In 2017, Travis co-produced two episodes of TriPod: New Orleans at 300 examining New Orleans' historic efforts at flood protection. One episode, NOLA vs Nature: The Other Biggest Flood in New Orleans History, was recognized with awards from the Public Radio News Directors and the New Orleans Press Club. His stories often find a wider audience on national programs, too, like NPR's Morning Edition, WBUR's Here and Now, and WHYY's The Pulse.

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