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Senators urge Obama administration to limit rules on coal exports

Six US senators Wednesday pressed the Obama administration to limit the impact looming changes to federal environmental review rules may have on coal exports.

In a letter sent to Jo-Ellen Darcy, assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, and Nancy Sutley, chairman of the Council of Environmental Quality, the senators urged the administration to limit the expansion of National Environmental Policy Act reviews, which they claim could hurt US coal exports.

The letter was signed by Republicans David Vitter of Louisiana, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Jeff Sessions of Alabama and James Inhofe of Oklahoma and Democrats Joe Manchin of Wyoming and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota.
The senators are concerned that the White House could finalize new guidance on NEPA reviews in a way which would force regulators to broadly review the impact of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions in foreign markets where coal may be shipped.

"Such a review effectively places a climate change litmus test on exports and requires a type of analysis that is not practicable, but is certain to lead to a slippery slope that undermines jobs, American businesses and exacerbates our trade deficit," the senators wrote. "Cumulative concerns like greenhouse gas emissions that may occur in countries across the Pacific Ocean are not closely related to the projects you are being asked to consider."

In June, Jennifer Moyer, the acting chief of the Army Corps of Engineers' regulatory program, said regulators would conduct a separate environmental review for each of three proposed coal-export projects in the Pacific Northwest, rather than a broad, single review of the impact of all three projects.

Opponents of these export projects had pushed for an area-wide, or regional, environmental impact statement for the three coal export projects, which would have likely made approval more difficult.

The senators wrote that while they applauded Moyer's commitment, it was unclear if the administration would require broad reviews in its pending NEPA guidance.

Source" Platts