Executive Order 13766: Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals for High Priority Infrastructure Projects

This order calls on executive agencies to expedite the review processes (especially processes designed to investigate environmental impact) for infrastructure projects deemed “high priority” by the Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. (Currently, this is Mary Neumayr, but the position was vacant when this order was passed.)  The day this order was passed, President Trump signed memoranda giving the controversial Keystone XL pipeline expansion and Dakota Access pipeline project “high priority” status. Several other oil pipeline construction projects have also been given this status. As a result, the Keystone XL did not receive an Environmental Impact Assessment it otherwise could have gotten, and the Dakota Access pipeline was treated similarly. Notably, the Keystone XL pipeline project was controversial because it was not rigorously vetted by the EPA, would carry more oil from Alberta’s tar sands (increasing the risk of a spill and the environmental damage caused by extraction), and sought to expand a pipeline that has already spilled thousands of gallons of oil. Furthermore, the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access pipeline would be built on lands belonging to Native Americans, who are generally unified against the projects. The Dakota Access pipeline has drawn scrutiny from locals due to worries about sexual assault, violent crime, and drug use by oil workers in the region; stories of the “man camps” of oil workers are extremely worrying. Also, President Trump has stock in the corporation proposing to build the Dakota Access pipeline, so the project would personally benefit him.

The Supreme Court has since allowed this order to take effect, but exempted the Keystone XL pipeline from “high priority” status, forcing it to go through a rigorous environmental vetting process. Another court has also required the Dakota Access pipeline to shut down for rigorous environmental review. These decisions may delay these projects until after the 2020 election, possibly preventing their completion. Incidentally, since this executive order was passed, the Keystone pipeline has spilled 380,000 gallons of oil onto North Dakota wetlands.