EPA Water Rule Won’t Speed Up New Oil, Gas Pipeline Projects (1)

A new EPA water rule to curtail state vetoes won’t necessarily ease the path for new oil and gas interstate pipeline projects, energy analysts and lawyers say.

They say this is partly due to the sharp decline in oil and gas linked to the coronavirus pandemic. But the hurdles also come from a federal court’s suspension of the Clean Water Act Nationwide Permit 12, or NWP 12, that would allow developers to dredge and fill wetlands and stream crossings in order to lay pipelines.

Without a nationwide permit, pipeline builders have no choice to seek the more time-consuming and expensive ...