President Declares National Energy Emergency - Fast-tracking Project Approvals
Also among his day-one Executive Orders, President Trump declared a "National Energy Emergency", specifically targeted to accelerate additions of pipelines and power transmission lines, as well as natural gas generating capacity - especially on-campus gas plants dedicated to powering AI data centers.
The declaration has immediate potential to accelerate permits for pipelines and power transmission lines by fast-tracking approvals including pipeline route permits by the Army Corps of Engineers and habitat impacts under the Endangered Species Act as administered by Department of Interior.
The order states, "Agencies are directed to use, to the fullest extent possible and consistent with applicable law, the emergency Army Corps permitting provisions to facilitate the Nation's energy supply," and "agencies are directed to use, to the maximum extent permissible under applicable law, the Endangered Species Act regulation on consultations in emergencies, to facilitate the Nation's energy supply."
The order underscores the critical U.S. national and economic security imperatives of adding to our energy infrastructure, declaring that "the integrity and expansion of our Nation's energy infrastructure - from coast to coast - is an immediate and pressing priority for the protection of the United States' national and economic security," and that "the United States' insufficient energy production, transportation, refining, and generation constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to our Nation's economy, national security, and foreign policy."
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