Overlapping, duplicative requirements slowing permitting Industry looking for more clarity from Congress Legal challenges putting pipeline projects at-risk Washington — The US government needs to reform its environmental regulations or permitting and construction of oil and natural gas pipelines may be unable to keep pace with demand, according to a report published Thursday by the National Petroleum Council. Overhaul of the National Environmental Policy Act, which mandates consideration of the environmental impacts of major government agency decisions, is most needed, the report states. “The number one legal challenge is the NEPA process,” said Amy Shank, an asset integrity and pipeline safety director with Williams, and one of the study’s co-authors. “If we get Congress to clarify and really get specific about what NEPA should and shouldn’t cover … then I think those court cases either […]