LMOGA responds to Administration’s Executive Order promoting energy infrastructure and economic grow

BATON ROUGE, LA (April 11, 2019) —The Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association (LMOGA) released the following statement regarding new Executive Orders that will help relieve the backlog of pipeline projects to move America’s energy revolution forward, providing clean and affordable fuels to more working families, and creating jobs.

“Pipelines are the safest, most environmentally-friendly way to transport oil and natural gas, and LMOGA supports a predictable permitting process to continue strengthening our energy infrastructure and growing our economy,” said LMOGA President and General Counsel, Tyler Gray. “Unfortunately, bureaucratic barriers at the federal level have caused regulatory uncertainty, preventing the construction of essential infrastructure. We applaud the Administration for their commitment to building America’s pipelines, enabling safe, efficient delivery of energy and creating the jobs that Louisiana’s families and businesses rely on every day.”

“Louisiana has long been a hub of critical infrastructure, and we are pleased to see an executive action that will ease the permitting process and help ensure continued investment in America’s energy infrastructure,” said Gray. “Further, LMOGA recognizes the leadership of Louisiana’s Attorney General, Jeff Landry, for recently weighing in on this important issue, garnering support from his colleagues in other states asking the EPA for relief on the issues with Section 401 of the Clean Water Act.”

The new Executive Orders direct the Environmental Protection Agency to review the guidance for Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, which governs what state agencies should review in applications for water quality permits. These permits are often needed for pipeline construction projects crossing bodies of water. It also clarifies the guidance for Presidential Permits on cross-border pipelines. Projects that receive a Presidential Permit issued by the President do not require a National Environmental Protection Act review because they have been deemed to be so necessary to the public interest.

The United States has produced more natural gas and oil each month in 2018 and 2019 than any other nation in the world. At the same time, U.S. energy companies have driven CO2 emissions to their lowest levels in a generation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

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About LMOGA
Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, founded in 1923, is a trade association exclusively representing all sectors of the oil and gas industry operating in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. LMOGA serves exploration and production, refining, transportation, marketing and midstream companies as well as other firms in the fields of law, engineering, environment, financing and government relations.