Developers have been trying for six years to build a 124-mile natural gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to New York. Despite winning a federal approval in 2014, the project is still no closer to reality. Enter President Donald Trump, who on Wednesday is poised to issue an executive order to promote projects like the long-stalled Constitution Pipeline, according to people familiar with the matter who asked for anonymity to discuss it before a formal announcement.
The move seeks to short-circuit regulators in New York who have denied the planned pipeline a crucial permit, invoking their powers under the Clean Water Act to reject projects they deem a threat to water supplies and the environment. Other states and tribes have wielded the power to restrict a coal export terminal and hydropower project on the U.S. West Coast. The Clean Water Act wasn’t “intended to give a state veto power,” said Dena Wiggins, president of the Natural Gas Supply Association. “The actions New York is taking not only impact New York, they are impacting the entire Northeast, because we can’t get a pipeline through the state in order to provide gas service to the Northeast.”
But New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said that “no corporation should be allowed to endanger our natural resources,” and vowed the state “will not relent in our fight to protect our environment.” Trump’s order, slated to be unveiled during a visit to the International Union of Operating Engineers International Training and Education Center in Crosby, Texas, comes as the president continues to chafe at regulatory barriers he says throttle the full potential of American “energy dominance,” while keeping the nation hooked on foreign gas imports.
Trump also is set to issue an executive order aimed at boosting cross-border energy infrastructure, following long delays on high-profile projects such as TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL oil pipeline, according to two people familiar with the matter.