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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed a new raft of executive actions to combat climate change, including pausing new oil and gas leases on federal land and cutting fossil fuel subsidies, as he pursues green policies he billed as a boon for job creation.
The orders map out the direction for the Democratic president’s climate change and environmental agenda and reverse the policies of his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, who sought to maximize U.S. oil, gas and coal output by removing regulations and easing environmental reviews.
“In my view, we’ve already waited too long to deal with this climate crisis,” Biden told a White House ceremony, noting the threats the nation faces from intensifying storms, wildfires, floods and droughts linked to climate change as well as air pollution from burning fossil fuels. “It’s time to act.”
Canadian pressure mounts on Michigan governor to back off Enbridge pipeline
Updated Jan 26, 2021;
Posted Jan 26, 2021
A Ballard Marine Construction boat tows an Enbridge underwater sonar vehicle to the site of Line 5 under the Straits of Mackinac on Thursday, June 9, 2016. (Garret Ellison | MLive.com)
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LANSING, MI Canadian government and business interests are mounting a full-court-press on Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, hoping to badger the Midwest Democrat into reversing an order that shuts down a controversial Enbridge oil pipeline under Lake Michigan later this year.
Whitmer administration officials say formal calls are coming from nearly all corners of Canada to allow the Enbridge Line 5 oil line crossing under the Straits of Mackinac to continue operating after a May deadline, which the governor imposed several months ago when she announced revocation of the pipeline easement over past violations.
Source: Reuters
In recent years, state governments, Native American tribes and environmental groups have successfully challenged the Army Corps’ use of the Nationwide Permit Program to stop construction of several big oil and gas pipelines.
Those projects include TC Energy Corp’s Keystone XL crude pipe and Equitrans Midstream Corp’s Mountain Valley gas pipe.
The revisions, which make it easier for companies to receive Nationwide Permits, also create three categories of linear utility infrastructure: oil and gas pipes, water and sewer pipes, and power and telecommunications lines.
“Because these changes lack scientific or legal justification and threaten important waterways, we hope and expect the Biden administration will move quickly to undo them,” said Jon Devine, the director of federal water policy at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Kalamazoo, MI, USA / WKZO | Everything Kalamazoo | 590 AM · 106.9 FM
Jan 6, 2021 3:08 PM
(Reuters) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has finalized revisions to its Nationwide Permits, a program for utility stream crossings that has been criticized by environmentalists, which analysts say could cause problems for oil and natural gas pipelines.
In recent years, state governments, Native American tribes and environmental groups have successfully challenged the Army Corps use of the Nationwide Permit Program to stop construction of several big oil and gas pipelines.
Those projects include TC Energy Corp s Keystone XL crude pipe and Equitrans Midstream Corp s Mountain Valley gas pipe.
U.S. Army Corpsâ new stream crossing rules could hurt oil/gas pipes -analysts By Syndicated Content
Jan 6, 2021 8:08 PM
(Reuters) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has finalized revisions to its Nationwide Permits, a program for utility stream crossings that has been criticized by environmentalists, which analysts say could cause problems for oil and natural gas pipelines.
In recent years, state governments, Native American tribes and environmental groups have successfully challenged the Army Corps use of the Nationwide Permit Program to stop construction of several big oil and gas pipelines.
Those projects include TC Energy Corp s Keystone XL crude pipe and Equitrans Midstream Corp s Mountain Valley gas pipe.