Trump Throws Open Borders to Polluters, Approval of Dakota Access and Keystone XL Pipelines

WASHINGTON  – President Trump today signed two executive memoranda which could fast track the approval of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and ease remaining roadblocks for the Dakota Access Pipeline, dirty energy projects stopped and slowed by former President Obama.

The following is a statement by Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council:

“It’s appalling that Trump wants to throw open our borders and fragile lands to big polluters. Sharply cutting the national interest determination process to just 60 days stifles public engagement and makes it virtually impossible for the government to study and understand the merits and drawbacks of major pieces of oil infrastructure.

“These deeply flawed actions pave the way for approval of the Dakota Access Pipeline—a project vehemently opposed by tribal nations whose land its crosses and waters it could pollute. Equally troubling, they also revive the Keystone XL pipeline— a tar sands project that would lock our country into, for a generation or more, massive development of among the dirtiest fuels of our past. They pose a grave threat to our water, communities and climate. We will use every tool available to help ensure that they are not built.”

# # #

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 2 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Chicago; Bozeman, Montana; and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC