WASHINGTON--The White House is calling on federal agencies to
consider the climate-change impact of a wide range of energy
projects that require government approval.
The draft guidelines, released Thursday by the White House's
Council on Environmental Quality, are likely to affect fossil-fuel
projects the most, such as pipelines, terminals that export coal
and liquefied natural gas, and production of oil, natural gas and
coal on public lands.
Business and energy interests complained when the White House
signaled almost three years ago that it planned such a change that
it could slow federal reviews. Some congressional Democrats support
the move.
The guidance doesn't affect the Keystone XL pipeline, whose
review already has considered climate change, according to an
administration official.
The draft guidance spells out how different agencies, such as
the Interior Department, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and
Army Corps of Engineers, should consider the greenhouse-gas
emissions of projects that require environmental reviews under the
National Environmental Policy Act. It also encourages agencies to
consider alternatives that have smaller carbon footprints.
If an agency determines it doesn't want to weigh such climate
impacts, it must explain why not.
Current law requires the government to consider local
environmental concerns about projects, but not global problems such
as climate change.
"Climate change is a fundamental environmental issue, and the
relation of Federal actions to it falls squarely within NEPA's
focus," states the guidance, while acknowledging that climate is a
"particularly complex challenge given its global nature."
How significant of an impact the guidelines could have will
become clearer as projects go through the normal government review
with this additional consideration. The White House is seeking
comment for 60 days and then will issue final guidance, though it
wasn't clear when that would occur.
This guidance updates and expands a similar but narrower
proposal the White House issued in 2010 but never completed. The
earlier guidelines came in response to a petition the Natural
Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club filed in 2008 under the
Administrative Procedure Act, a law that governs how the agencies
propose rules and regulations.
"We remain concerned, as we were in 2010, about any expansion of
NEPA that could inject even more uncertainty and delay into an
already challenging permitting process," said Ross Eisenberg, vice
president of energy and resources policy at the National
Association of Manufacturers, a Washington-based trade
association.
Support from some of Capitol Hill's most vocal proponents of
climate action came quickly on Thursday.
"It's a smart step that creates a more comprehensive climate
strategy, and the Obama administration is once again showing their
commitment to tackle climate change," said Sen. Edward Markey (D.,
Mass.).
NEPA, first enacted in 1970 by then-President Richard Nixon, a
Republican, is considered one of the nation's bedrock environmental
laws. It requires environmental reviews--known as environmental
impact statements--on proposed federal approvals of different kinds
of projects, especially ones involving infrastructure or
energy.
Write to Amy Harder at amy.harder@wsj.com
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