Trump energy policy aims to unplug Endangered Species Act
President Donald Trump has explicitly targeted the Endangered Species Act as an obstacle to his energy policies and appears intent to evade the 51-year-old law in other ways.
Section 5 of Trump’s Declaring a National Energy Emergency directs all federal agencies with energy projects to use emergency consultation rules to resolve any Endangered Species Act issues. Section 6 revives a 1979 committee known as the God Squad to meet quarterly and “consider any lawful applications” from agencies, state governors or permit applicants needing exemption from Endangered Species Act regulations. Another section directs the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to use its special permitting provisions to override Clean Water Act regulations.
“They did this last time,” Center for Biological Diversity Government Affairs Director Brett Bartl said on Friday. “[The Trump administration] went around and identified what they thought were burdensome environmental regulations.”
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