Energy companies can now request expedited federal permits to alter or destroy wetlands in Louisiana following President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring an “energy emergency.”
The Army Corps of Engineers’ office in New Orleans released a new permitting policy Tuesday for energy-related permits subject to the executive order. Critics are already questioning whether it will pass legal muster.
Trump’s order directed the Army Corps to “identify planned or potential actions to facilitate the Nation’s energy supply” and help boost fossil fuels. The agency is charged with managing and protecting federal waters and helping minimize losses of wetlands.
The new corps policy states that companies applying for expedited permits to fill in wetlands must explain why their energy project would help “control the immediate impacts” of Trump’s claimed emergency. They must also provide information about how many federally protected wetlands would be dredged or filled in through their project.
