Pipeline projects booming in the US while federal regulations ease, report notes

New pipeline projects are booming across the United States at the same time the Trump administration rolls back federal environmental and safety regulations, according to a new report. 

A new analysis from the Environmental Integrity Project, a policy nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., looked at public records from federal and state agencies as well as publicly available information from company websites to determine there were 193 new pipeline projects either proposed or under construction as of Aug. 1. 

The report said recent growth in U.S. pipeline capacity, expected to build 17,000 miles of new pipelines, is the largest in almost 20 years, when hydraulic fracturing technology expanded oil and gas drilling across the globe. 

Of the 193 pending projects, 151 would transport natural gas, and 81 will cross through more than 19,000 acres of federally protected wetlands, according to the report’s analysis.

In Louisiana, the buildout of new pipeline infrastructure is mostly to service the booming liquefied natural gas export industry along the Gulf Coast. The largest in the works by export capacity is the Driftwood Line 200 and 300 project. It would travel 71 miles from Beauregard Parish to Calcasieu Parish, crossing 151 acres of wetlands to carry 5.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to the expanding LNG terminals. 

Jen Duggan, executive director with the Environmental Integrity Project, said during an online news conference Wednesday that these pipeline projects require thoughtful evaluation before they are built, something the report argues is not happening under the Trump administration. 

“Major pipeline projects that threaten public safety and our environment should undergo rigorous scrutiny with full transparency, meaningful public input, and comprehensive public hearings,” Duggan said. 

Of the 193 pipeline projects proposed or being built, 52 have requested or received expedited or streamlined reviews from federal agencies such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Army Corps of Engineers, according to the report. At least 30% of the 81 projects impacting wetlands have either requested or received accelerated reviews of wetlands permits under the Trump administration’s energy emergency policy. 

Enforcement actions against pipeline companies have also dramatically decreased under the Trump administration, the report found. The Federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has the ability to issue warnings, order corrective actions and place fines on violators. Last year, the agency recorded 112 actions in response to pipeline infractions, about half its annual average of 217 over the past two decades and the fewest on record. 

“Cutting back on these pipeline safety rules and enforcement is a serious issue,” Duggan said. “Given the number and scale of proposed pipeline projects, the Trump administration should tighten pipeline safety rules and increase inspections enforcement and funding for safety research, not the opposite.”