An amendment filed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to the Energy-Water title of the House's second fiscal 2021 spending package has struck a nerve with the nation's pipeline industry.
The amendment, submitted and made available for the public through the House Rules Committee website late last week, would add a policy rider to prevent the Army Corps of Engineers from using any of its $7.35 billion allocation to issue oil and gas pipeline permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.
The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America warned yesterday that should the proposal move forward, it could put a stop to pipeline construction across the country, with potentially devastating effects to associated infrastructure needed to bolster manufacturing, heating and power production.
For Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive lawmakers, that is most likely the point, as they look to further undercut fossil fuel deployment to combat climate change. Ocasio-Cortez's office did not return an email for comment on her amendment yesterday.
C.J. Osman, INGAA's vice president of operations, safety and integrity, said in an interview with E&E News that the amendment could mean drastic problems for the pipeline industry, should it be made in order.
An amendment filed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to the Energy-Water title of the House's second fiscal 2021 spending package has struck a nerve with the nation's pipeline industry. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Energy & Oil Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Energy & Oil providing higher education, high-quality health care, and affordable, safe, and adequate housing to all. — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 20, 2020. Oil prices went negative on Monday for the first time in history, dropping over 100 percent on the day to hit -$37.63 a barrel. A House version of the legislation is being spearheaded by Reps. Ocasio-Cortez and Darren Soto Darren Michael Soto ER doctor chosen to lead. An oil industry spokeswoman said the practice of.
'This amendment is pretty concerning for our industry,' Osman said. 'It seems to amount to a ban to most new energy pipeline projects.'
Osman added, 'From our perspective, that would be incredibly disruptive both to American consumers' energy affordability and their access to energy.'
The Rules Committee will meet later today to consider the amendment, along with hundreds of others to the seven-bill spending minibus pending before the House floor this week (E&E Daily, July 27).
'Very concerned'
The amendment would prevent any permitting 'for the discharge of dredged or fill material resulting from an activity to construct a pipeline for the transportation of oil or gas.'
The implications from such language could be far reaching, INGAA said, but ultimately, it could gut the Army Corps' ability to oversee its Section 404 responsibilities while still putting the onus on the industry to meet those requirements under the Clean Water Act.
The amendment could prevent the Army Corps from retooling its Nationwide Permit 12 program, which enables a more streamlined approach to approving pipeline construction pathways across multiple water and stream barriers.
A federal judge struck down the program in April, throwing the pipeline industry into chaos and stalling multiple projects (Energywire, April 27).
The Ocasio-Cortez amendment could also mean new and existing construction could not occur in fiscal 2021, putting in jeopardy upgrades to existing pipelines and deployment of new natural gas lines.
That could mean a reduction in energy affordability, grid reliability and construction jobs across the country — in Republican and Democratic districts.
'We believe that members of Congress on both sides of the political spectrum should be very concerned about this because there are impacts to communities across the country, and we have heard, frankly, from representatives, both Democrats and Republicans, that they have concerns with this legislation,' Osman said.
'This is one of those things that has the potential to have broad impacts across the country — red, blue, purple, whatever you may be,' he added.
Green New Deal alternative
Ocasio-Cortez has been adamant about her opposition to deploying additional fossil fuel infrastructure. She has opted instead for her Green New Deal to overhaul the economy with massive federal investment to transition to a climate-friendly future.
That has included a keen focus on pipelines. She fought against a Trump administration proposal to limit pipeline protests as part of reauthorizing the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Ocasio-Cortez protested the Dakota Access pipeline project.
Policy riders on appropriations bills are not without precedent in the House. Both parties use them to attempt to rein in perceived executive branch overreach or to ensure implementation of certain policy in a certain way.
House Republicans spent the majority of the 2010s using policy riders to lash out against Obama administration climate regulations. Democrats have done the same under the Trump administration related to his regulatory rollback agenda.
And Ocasio-Cortez's amendment would not be the only rider targeting Army Corps operations. The bill already includes a rider to prevent any funding from going to the border wall construction and another provision limiting the ability to move its Civil Works program to an additional federal agency, among others.
With a Republican Senate, those policy riders are expected to be absent from any spending legislation enacted into law.
She didn't actually love to see it.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez deleted a tweet Monday in which she proclaimed to 'absolutely love to see' U.S. oil prices plummet to historic lows because of the coronavirus pandemic.
'You absolutely love to see it. This along with record low-interest rates means it's the right time for a worker-led, mass investment in green infrastructure to save our planet,' Ocasio-Cortez wrote in the since-removed tweet amid news that the price for a barrel of U.S. crude oil had dropped to a previously unheard of -$36 per barrel.
The progressive Queens-Bronx congresswoman's snarky post sparked intense outrage from right-wing commentators.
'Leftist Congresswoman, BA economics degree holder, and former high school science prize winner AOC wants you to know she thinks the devastation of our oil industry and the impending loss of tens-of-thousands of jobs is something she ‘LOVES TO SEE,'' conservative talk radio host Buck Sexton tweeted.
Within hours, Ocasio-Cortez had deleted the tweet and replaced it with a couple of posts that made the same argument without introducing her point with the 'love to see it' preface.
Alexandria Ocasio-cortez Husband
'Fossil fuels are in long-term structural decline. This along with low-interest rates means it‘s the right time to create millions of jobs transitioning to renewable and clean energy. A key opportunity,' tweeted Ocasio-Cortez, who's a co-sponsor of the so-called 'Green New Deal,' which aims to aggressively combat climate change and overhaul the U.S. economy.
Demetrius Burns, a Twitter user who described himself as an oil worker from Texas, tweeted back at Ocasio-Cortez that the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in mass layoffs in his industry.
The amendment would prevent any permitting 'for the discharge of dredged or fill material resulting from an activity to construct a pipeline for the transportation of oil or gas.'
The implications from such language could be far reaching, INGAA said, but ultimately, it could gut the Army Corps' ability to oversee its Section 404 responsibilities while still putting the onus on the industry to meet those requirements under the Clean Water Act.
The amendment could prevent the Army Corps from retooling its Nationwide Permit 12 program, which enables a more streamlined approach to approving pipeline construction pathways across multiple water and stream barriers.
A federal judge struck down the program in April, throwing the pipeline industry into chaos and stalling multiple projects (Energywire, April 27).
The Ocasio-Cortez amendment could also mean new and existing construction could not occur in fiscal 2021, putting in jeopardy upgrades to existing pipelines and deployment of new natural gas lines.
That could mean a reduction in energy affordability, grid reliability and construction jobs across the country — in Republican and Democratic districts.
'We believe that members of Congress on both sides of the political spectrum should be very concerned about this because there are impacts to communities across the country, and we have heard, frankly, from representatives, both Democrats and Republicans, that they have concerns with this legislation,' Osman said.
'This is one of those things that has the potential to have broad impacts across the country — red, blue, purple, whatever you may be,' he added.
Green New Deal alternative
Ocasio-Cortez has been adamant about her opposition to deploying additional fossil fuel infrastructure. She has opted instead for her Green New Deal to overhaul the economy with massive federal investment to transition to a climate-friendly future.
That has included a keen focus on pipelines. She fought against a Trump administration proposal to limit pipeline protests as part of reauthorizing the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Ocasio-Cortez protested the Dakota Access pipeline project.
Policy riders on appropriations bills are not without precedent in the House. Both parties use them to attempt to rein in perceived executive branch overreach or to ensure implementation of certain policy in a certain way.
House Republicans spent the majority of the 2010s using policy riders to lash out against Obama administration climate regulations. Democrats have done the same under the Trump administration related to his regulatory rollback agenda.
And Ocasio-Cortez's amendment would not be the only rider targeting Army Corps operations. The bill already includes a rider to prevent any funding from going to the border wall construction and another provision limiting the ability to move its Civil Works program to an additional federal agency, among others.
With a Republican Senate, those policy riders are expected to be absent from any spending legislation enacted into law.
She didn't actually love to see it.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez deleted a tweet Monday in which she proclaimed to 'absolutely love to see' U.S. oil prices plummet to historic lows because of the coronavirus pandemic.
'You absolutely love to see it. This along with record low-interest rates means it's the right time for a worker-led, mass investment in green infrastructure to save our planet,' Ocasio-Cortez wrote in the since-removed tweet amid news that the price for a barrel of U.S. crude oil had dropped to a previously unheard of -$36 per barrel.
The progressive Queens-Bronx congresswoman's snarky post sparked intense outrage from right-wing commentators.
'Leftist Congresswoman, BA economics degree holder, and former high school science prize winner AOC wants you to know she thinks the devastation of our oil industry and the impending loss of tens-of-thousands of jobs is something she ‘LOVES TO SEE,'' conservative talk radio host Buck Sexton tweeted.
Within hours, Ocasio-Cortez had deleted the tweet and replaced it with a couple of posts that made the same argument without introducing her point with the 'love to see it' preface.
Alexandria Ocasio-cortez Husband
'Fossil fuels are in long-term structural decline. This along with low-interest rates means it‘s the right time to create millions of jobs transitioning to renewable and clean energy. A key opportunity,' tweeted Ocasio-Cortez, who's a co-sponsor of the so-called 'Green New Deal,' which aims to aggressively combat climate change and overhaul the U.S. economy.
Demetrius Burns, a Twitter user who described himself as an oil worker from Texas, tweeted back at Ocasio-Cortez that the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in mass layoffs in his industry.
'I don't have a college degree, so if this industry goes under I'll be out of a job,' Burns wrote.
Ocasio-Cortez quickly tweeted back at Burns: 'What we need to do is bring workers like you to the table in our transition to renewable infrastructure, and guaranteeing pensions for fossil fuel workers. If you see what is happening to coal workers, the mines get $ and workers are hung to dry. We can't allow for that to happen.'
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