Army Corps Reissues Fast‑Track Permits That Endanger Streams and Wetlands
Final rule keeps rubber‑stamp approval for oil and gas pipelines and opens a new shortcut for data centers.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a final rule reissuing numerous permits nationwide for activities that alter, fill in, or destroy federally protected waters with minimal oversight.
Among them, the Corps renewed a general permit that allows oil and gas pipelines to be built. This could authorize pipelines stretching for hundreds of miles and crossing hundreds of water bodies, despite the Clean Water Act’s requirement that general permits be limited to activities causing only minimal environmental harm. The Corps also announced a separate nationwide permit pathway to fast‑track data center construction, without assessing the distinct environmental impacts of such facilities.
The Biden administration previously solicited public comment on curbing or retiring the pipeline permit. The Trump administration disregarded that input and reissued the permit without any needed changes.
The following is a reaction from Jon Devine, senior attorney and director of freshwater ecosystems at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
“The Trump administration’s assault on clean water continues full steam ahead. It is fast‑tracking hugely destructive activities that destroy streams and wetlands across the country. By greenlighting—with little to no oversight—oil and gas pipelines and other projects that can destroy hundreds of water bodies and pollute numerous watersheds, the administration once again is putting the fossil fuel industry and other polluters ahead of communities that depend on clean water.”
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).