The United States is producing more and more crude oil and natural gas and will do so for the foreseeable future. However, oil and gas produced in remote areas must be transported to refineries or other facilities for processing or tank terminals for export.

Pipelines are the preferred method of transportation, due to their cost-effectiveness and overall safety record. Additional pipelines are needed to handle existing and future demand. Increasingly, though, the pipeline permitting process has become a battleground in which those who wish to hinder the use of fossil fuels take advantage of the existing statutory and regulatory framework to achieve those ends. One requirement in the Clean Water Act has increasingly been used as a weapon. Continue reading “Streamlining Pipeline Permitting” →