AGs fight added bureaucracy in pipeline reviews

Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor and 20 other attorneys general have joined efforts to urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers not to add more requirements on pipeline project reviews and hamper efforts to fight record-setting gas prices.

O’Connor and the other attorneys general sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers objecting to its proposed review of Nationwide Permit 12.

The permit is one of several regulatory actions which govern the activities related to pipeline and other energy infrastructure projects – including construction and routine maintenance.

“This so-called review won’t address the real concerns facing our citizens – prominently, historically high energy prices. It will instead inject unnecessary, duplicative, and inequitable red tape into an already bureaucratically laden process,” the attorneys general wrote.

“Far from alleviating our current crisis, the Corps appears to be poised to take measures that will undermine NWP 12′s purpose and further jeopardize the Nation’s energy security and prosperity.”

Attorneys General from Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Nebraska and Missouri also signed the letter.

Read more at WIBW