Congresswoman Gwen Moore offered an amendment to the Water Resources Development (WRDA) bill that was approved by voice vote on the floor of the House of Representatives Thursday afternoon. In reading the amendment, the MAIN Coalition believes that it refers to process only and is intended to have no bearing on the Dakota Access Pipeline project itself. Having said that, if it does – or is intended to delay the project in any way – that is very, very concerning.
In a statement, MAIN Coalition spokesman Craig Stevens said the following in response to the amendment:
“It appears from our initial reading that Congresswoman Moore’s amendment deals with reviewing the regulatory process only, and should have no impact – whatsoever – on the Dakota Access Pipeline or any other currently sited or approved infrastructure project. Should the Congress and Administration move forward with updating regulations, they must recognize a split in time that honors the regulatory processes in place when a project was reviewed and approved; and utilize any updated requirements on projects to come in the future, after the new regulations are formally in place.
“For the government or judiciary to act in a manner that would penalize – retroactively – already approved private infrastructure projects would have a chilling effect on infrastructure development and bring severe consequences to our economy and American jobs.”