Environmental groups sue feds over blanket permit to fast-track pipelines

Critics say Nationwide Permit 12, which has already been used to authorize controversial oil and gas projects, cuts out crucial steps like informing the public and evaluating risks to species.WASHINGTON (CN) — A coalition of environmental advocates sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday for issuing a nationwide permit that fast-tracks the approval of oil and gas pipelines, arguing the decision endangers rivers, streams and wetlands across the country.Led by the Center for Biological Diversity, the coalition filed the suit in District of Columbia federal court challenging the Jan. 8 approval of “Nationwide Permit 12,” which the Corps estimates would be used to approve up to 3,700 projects a year, or 18,500 pipeline projects over its five-year duration.According to the coalition, the permit authorizes a streamlined process for oil and gas pipelines without the comprehensive environmental review usually required under the Clean Water Act. The process removes requirements for public notice and often requires no further involvement from the Corps.The permit was previously used to authorize controversial projects like the Mountain Valley pipeline, the now-defunct Atlantic Coast and Keystone XL pipelines, and the Dakota Access pipeline. The new permit went into effect on March 15 and will last until March 15, 2031.“The Corps allows oil and gas pipelines to use NWP 12 repeatedly for each water crossing along a project’s length, with no limit to the number of times a pipeline can use NWP or the total number of acres of wetland that a project can impact,” the coalition argues. “NWP 12 thereby allows the Corps to artificially treat large interstate pipeline projects as hundreds or event thousands of separate ‘single and complete projects’ to apply the general permit and thereby avoid the more transparent and thorough permit process required by Section 404 of the [Clean Water Act],” they groups say.The coalition is asking Senior U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, a Bill Clinton appointee, to declare the Corps’ decision illegal and vacate the permit.Doug Hayes, senior attorney at Sierra Club, said in a statement announcing the lawsuit the Corps must follow the law “instead of giving polluters another free pass.”“The Army Corps is using Nationwide Permit 12 to sidestep the laws that protect our waters, wetlands and wildlife, and to make it easier for the oil and gas industry to build pipelines with minimal oversight,” Hayes said. “Congress never intended this program to be a shortcut for fossil fuel projects with such widespread and lasting environmental impacts. Communities deserve a thorough review of projects that threaten clean water we all depend on.”Wednesday’s lawsuit is the third legal challenge to the Corps’ issuance of permit 12, with a successful initial challenge in 2017 filed in Montana federal court that led, in part, to the cancellation of the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline.The coalition again sued in 2021 to challenge a second attempt; the case was transferred to Washington and ultimately resulted in the plaintiff’s voluntary dismissal due to the 2026 reapproval.“In reissuing NWP 12 in 2026, the Corps once again disregarded its legal obligation to complete programmatic [Endangered Species Act] Section 7 with the [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service] by concluding that the issuance or reissuance of the permit would have ‘no effect’ on listed species,” the coalition argues. “In doing so, the Corps once again relied on the same erroneous reasoning previously rejected by the Montana District Court, contending that programmatic consultation is not required because all NWP 12 projects that ‘may affect’ listed species are subject to project-specific consultation and therefore the issuance of NWP 12 has ‘no effect’ on listed species.”In the published rule in the Federal Register, the Corps reissued 56 existing nationwide permits, with one new permit, describing them as a way to “help protect the aquatic environment and the public interest by providing incentives to reduce impacts to jurisdictional waters.”Shannon James, campaigns and advocacy director at the Montana Environmental Information Center, slammed the decision in a statement.“The new Nationwide Permit 12 allows pipeline projects to evade meaningful environmental review at a time when the proposed Bridger Pipeline (AKA Keystone XXL) poses major threats to the Missouri, Yellowstone and Poplar rivers — critical waterways that Montanans depend on,” James said. “Pipelines fail, and allowing them to be approved without adequate environmental review is downright dangerous.”The Corps did not respond to a request for comment.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads