BLM axes Obama-era oil and gas leasing reforms: “The Bureau of Land Management has formally canceled a number of Obama-era oil and natural gas leasing reforms, including one that planned suitable sites for drilling across broad swaths of federal lands. BLM yesterday issued an instruction memorandum (IM) to all field offices updating oil and gas leasing policies "to simplify and streamline the leasing process to alleviate unnecessary impediments and burdens, to expedite the offering of lands for lease, and to ensure quarterly oil and gas lease sales are consistently held in accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act." Among other things, the IM kills the use of master leasing plans (MLPs), which has allowed BLM in specific instances to keep energy development away from national parks and other environmentally sensitive areas. The MLPs were a key component of federal onshore leasing reforms the Obama administration rolled out in early 2010. BLM has been reviewing whether to eliminate MLPs since at least June, when Katharine MacGregor, Interior's deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management, told a House Natural Resources subcommittee that the agency was reviewing whether to cut them (E&E Daily, June 30, 2017). In their place, the IM directs the agency to use individual resource management plans (RMPs) to guide where energy development will be allowed on public lands. The decision to eliminate the use of MLPs was expected. The Interior Department indicated last fall in a 44-page report outlining regulatory "burdens" to energy development that it was working on ending the use of MLPs. The report was done to comply with a March executive order from President Trump mandating federal agencies to review all rules and policies that "unnecessarily encumber" U.S. energy production. The report called for rescinding a 2013 BLM instruction memorandum that established guidelines "for integrating an MLP into the land use planning process." The IM was included in an agency handbook titled "Planning for Fluid Mineral Resources." BLM, according to the IM issued yesterday, has determined that MLPs "have created duplicative layers" of review under the National Environmental Policy Act. "This policy, therefore, eliminates the use of MLPs," it says. As a result, the MLP procedures in the 2013 agency handbook "are hereby rescinded," the IM says. It also states the agency will no longer "routinely defer leasing" while RMP amendment revisions are completed. For example, BLM under the Obama administration deferred leases covering thousands of acres of greater sage grouse habitat while it worked to amend 98 BLM and Forest Service RMPs to install grouse protection measures.”

[E&E News, 2/2/18] https://goo.gl/uCsJNu

Critics on new leasing policy: 'BLM is inviting lawsuits': “Environmentalists are eyeing the courtroom after the Trump administration this week unveiled new policies for oil and gas leasing on public lands. The Interior Department's updated Bureau of Land Management leasing procedures usher in a wave of changes celebrated by the oil and gas industry and panned by environmentalists as an affront to public lands laws. "This step is likely to backfire on the Trump administration," Earthjustice attorney Mike Freeman said. "It almost ensures that BLM lease sales are going to get struck down for failure to comply with the law. "BLM is inviting lawsuits by taking this step," he added. The agency's new instruction memorandum reverses several reforms instituted by the Obama administration in 2010. It nixes the use of master leasing plans, championed by the Obama administration to increase input for leasing in sensitive areas; slashes the period of time opponents can raise objections to proposals; and scraps a rotating auction schedule designed to give BLM offices more time for review. Industry had long complained that those Obama-era measures created duplicative layers of environmental review to slow down development. The memo also supports the use of "determinations of NEPA adequacy" (DNAs) to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act when BLM officers think existing documents include sufficient analysis for new leasing proposals. The Obama administration occasionally used DNAs but favored environmental assessments for most leasing proposals. Critics of the new policies say the changes leave Interior legally vulnerable. The new IM sharply constrains public involvement, hamstrings field offices from providing thorough reviews and greenlights leasing whether or not it has been properly analyzed," Western Environmental Law Center attorney Laura King said. "In short, the IM makes a farce of BLM's mandate to consider multiple uses beyond extraction. When BLM implements the new IM, it will be legally vulnerable." Interior's policy clarifies that BLM offices do not have to resolve lease protests before conducting sales and specifies that the agency does not need to halt leasing when it decides to update planning documents for an area. King pointed to the latter provision as a particularly problematic feature of the agency's new approach, arguing that "stale" planning documents are not adequate legal support for new leasing. Direct challenges to agency procedures are tricky because IMs are generally considered nonbinding internal policies. The memo includes a standard disclaimer that leasing carried out under the policies must comply with all relevant laws, including NEPA. "It's hard to challenge an IM as it's guidance that BLM is issuing to its staff," Sgamma said. "They would have to show that BLM is not interpreting the Mineral Leasing Act or another law correctly with this guidance." Environmental lawyers are aware of those potential barriers to a direct challenge of Interior's new approach. "Speaking generally, there are some things that in terms of internal management of their procedures that an agency can do by these sorts of informal memoranda and guidance documents," Center for Biological Diversity senior attorney Michael Saul said. "There are other actions which rise to the level of constituting a rule under the Administrative Procedure Act."

[E&E News, 2/2/18] https://goo.gl/Tp39Qf

Trump expects us to trade clean air and water for updated infrastructure: “In President Trump’s State of the Union address he floated a proposal to allow corporations to exploit our natural resources by gutting vital environmental protections under the pretext of short-term jobs…It would be another substantial windfall for Wall Street banks by calling for the privatization of highways, bridges and water systems that would require charging big tolls and fees. But it is the swipe Trump takes against our environment in his greedy plan that really rankles. On top of all the rollbacks that he has already initiated via Administrator Scott Pruitt’s EPA and Secretary Ryan Zinke’s Interior Department, his infrastructure plan targets fundamental protections for clean air and uncontaminated water, the bulwark of safeguards that are designed for protecting all Americans. A great majority of Americans favor improving environmental safeguards and even more reject the sacrifice of regulations to provide for necessary public works. Ninety-four percent of Americans, including 92 percent of people who voted for Trump, insist that infrastructure can be built while keeping environmental protections in place, according to a poll conducted by Hart Research Associates for the Center for American Progress and Defenders of Wildlife. Pitting Americans’ interest in creating jobs and improving infrastructure against our need for clean air and water, Trump’s inadequate plan also calls for circumventing one of our oldest and most effective environmental laws, the National Environmental Policy Act. It requires our government to ensure that a building project will not harm the environment prior to granting construction permits. Instead, Trump is calling for federal regulators to rubber stamp authorizations for corporations so that they can build leaky, dangerous pipelines and contaminate toxic waste dumps. In the name of so-called “reform” and “efficiency,” his plan removes air and water protections and eliminates the publics’ participation in important infrastructure decisions. There exists legislation that expedites federal approvals, reduces duplication, spurs fidelity to project schedules, employs fiscal management systems and provides for an expedited path through historic preservation requirements. Passed by a Republican Congress during the Obama presidency, two laws address delays in federal permits — the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act and Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act. The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council oversees the entire process for qualifying projects. But in not using current law to grease the wheels, Trump has, in his infrastructure plan, taken yet another opportunity to eviscerate the environment.”

[The Hill, 2/2/18] https://goo.gl/PbDJrc

Another Washington State Natural Gas Project Must Account for Its Total Climate Impacts: “For the fourth time since July 2013, Washington state is requiring an analysis of the full climate impacts of a major fossil fuel project proposed within its borders. Most recently, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency announced on January 24 it would hire a consultant to undertake a full life-cycle analysis of greenhouse gas emissions associated with Puget Sound Energy's liquefied natural gas (LNG) project at the Port of Tacoma. That analysis will finish an incomplete environmental review undertaken by the City of Tacoma. It will join earlier climate impacts analyses of the now-defunct Gateway Pacific coal export terminal near Bellingham and the potentially defunct Millennium Bulk coal export terminal in Longview, as well as an analysis currently underway for the proposed fracked-gas-to-methanol export facility in Kalama. “This step … should not be interpreted as a sign that we’re not going to approve the project or are going to approve the project,” Steve Van Slyke, director of compliance for the clean air agency, told The News Tribune, referring to Tacoma LNG. “It’s just an analysis and information we need to get on the table.” Still, the agency's decision to delay granting a required air permit — contingent on this analysis — is a blow to developer Puget Sound Energy, which has faced ongoing protests since it began work at the Tacoma LNG site in November 2016. Last September, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, representing 60 tribal governments throughout the region, called for all federal, state, and local agencies “to ensure cessation of illegal construction activities of the proposed Tacoma LNG Plant.”

[DeSmog Blog, 2/2/18] https://goo.gl/gwhHyR

Every climate denier in Trump’s cabinet: “The Trump cabinet contains more public climate science deniers than any administration in modern history. According to an analysis by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, at a full meeting of President Donald Trump’s cabinet, more than half the room denies the reality of climate science. (ThinkProgress is an editorially independent news site housed within CAP.) In addition to Trump, 12 of the 24 members represented at his cabinet table are climate deniers. That’s not counting at least eight senior Trump administration officials whose job responsibilities, in a typical administration, would be to provide expertise and enact policies to safeguard a healthy climate…In addition to the climate science deniers across the cabinet, there are at least eight others among Trump’s senior staff or nominees for top environmental positions. For example, Trump’s pick to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), Kathleen Hartnett White, famously denied climate change, calling carbon dioxide “harmless,” touting the “benefits” and “moral case” for fossil fuels, and even claiming that fossil fuels ended slavery. Both Republicans and Democrats have expressed concerns about her extreme views, putting her nomination at risk. If confirmed, White would be joining other climate deniers in senior spots at the White House.”

[ThinkProgress, 2/2/18] https://goo.gl/6ezdek

Environmental group strongly condemns Bayou Bridge Pipeline permit: “A pipeline construction company has been selected to build 55-mile segment under Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin. This decision, however, is being challenged by environmental protection groups. If built, the Bayou Bridge Pipeline would be an extension of an existing pipeline, which began operation in early 2016 from Nederland, Texas to Lake Charles. The new segment of the pipeline would begin in Lake Charles and end at existing terminalling facilities in St. James, Louisiana. If the project goes through as ETP would like, they estimate it to be in service by the second half of this year. A press release from Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) on Monday, Jan. 29 states. The Sierra Club Delta Chapter on Tuesday, Jan. 30 responded to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ announcement of the approval of their permit for the Bayou Bridge Pipeline. “The Sierra Club Delta Chapter strongly condemns the approval of an U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit allowing a company with a proven history of pipeline leaks to construct a 162-mile long crude oil pipeline through our nation’s largest river swamp, the Atchafalaya Basin.” Sierra Club Delta Chapter Director Julie Rosenzweig, originally from Abbeville, Louisiana, pointed to a natural gas pipeline operated by ETP that exploded earlier this month in a fire near Sommerville, Texas. ETP estimates that the project would generate an estimated $17.6 million in sales tax for local businesses such as restaurants, hotels and stores due to goods and services purchased during construction. “Losing the delicate wetland forest in the path of this pipeline will cause damage that no amount of money can fix,” Rosenzweig said. “No amount of money can regrow what Energy Transfer Partners is cutting down today.” An injunction filed on Tuesday, Jan. 30 asks for a halt to the controversial Bayou Bridge pipeline. The group also filed for a temporary restraining order that would have immediately stopped construction pending the outcome of the preliminary injunction. It was denied but written reasons for the denial have not yet been issued. They made this request to stop construction from moving forward while a lawsuit filed on January 11 is being considered by the court. The lawsuit contends that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued permits and authorizations for the 162-mile pipeline without adequate environmental review - in a violation of the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. Thursday, Feb. 8 is the next hearing on the preliminary injunction at the Federal Courthouse in Baton Rouge.”

[Beauregard Daily News, 2/1/18] https://goo.gl/VX4oZu

FAA studies anticipated 12 flights a day, but 24 are planned: “Paine Field could soon host double the number of passenger flights envisioned a few short years ago, if everything goes as planned. The Federal Aviation Administration studied about a dozen daily flights in 2012, when the agency determined regular passenger service would have no significant environmental impact on Paine Field and the surrounding area. After a round of announcements last month, Alaska, United and Southwest airlines now expect to offer a combined 24 daily departures from Everett, starting this fall. It’s up to the FAA to decide whether that’s a significant change. Representatives from the company building a passenger terminal at the airport contend the number of announced flights poses no regulatory issue. Total passengers, car trips and other impacts, they said, should remain about the same as what the FAA studied five years ago in long-since abandoned proposals from other carriers. “Obviously the FAA has to make that assessment, but we’re confident that it will not show any significant difference,” said Peter Kirsch, an attorney for Propeller Airports. A meeting of the Save Our Communities advocacy group drew a robust audience at Mukilteo City Hall on Sunday. “They never studied enough scope,” said Mike Moore, Save Our Communities’ president. “They never studied enough activity.” The FAA is preparing to start a supplemental environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act. That’s one of three key steps necessary to authorize new service, said Allen Kenitzer, an agency spokesman. So far, the FAA has received formal service proposals from Alaska and United, but not from Southwest. Snohomish County planners intend to review the federal report, when it’s ready, to decide whether more land-use studies are needed at the local level, county spokesman Kent Patton said. Terminal construction is scheduled to finish this summer.”

[Everett Herald, 2/2/18] https://goo.gl/nJhKjo

Justin McCarthy

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