API-OH: Administration’s energy infrastructure plan will help deliver clean, affordable American energy to more families and businesses

COLUMBUS, April 10, 2019—API Ohio released the following statement regarding a new Executive Order that will help relieve the backlog of pipeline projects and move America’s energy revolution forward, enabling the energy industry to provide clean and affordable fuels to more working families.

“Ohio’s energy resources have already provided incredible environmental and economic benefits to our state – for instance, wholesale electricity prices have declined by 50 percent in the last decade due to an abundance of natural gas. We’re pleased the Administration has taken steps to ensure the benefits of our state’s plentiful natural gas and oil resources can be enjoyed by Ohio’s consumers due to the construction of new and necessary pipelines,” said API Ohio’s Executive Director, Chris Zeigler.

“Pipelines are the safest, most environmentally sound way to transport natural gas and oil to American consumers, and API supports a robust permitting process for moving pipeline and other critical infrastructure projects forward,” said API President and CEO Mike Sommers. “Bureaucratic barriers have crippled an otherwise strong regulatory regime, preventing the construction of essential infrastructure and unnecessarily contributing to an energy disparity in America. We applaud the Administration for their commitment to building America’s pipeline infrastructure, enabling the safe delivery of energy and creating the jobs that working families and businesses rely on each and every day.”

The new Executive Orders direct the Environmental Protection Agency to review the guidance for Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, which governs what state agencies should review in applications for water quality permits. These permits are often needed for pipeline construction projects crossing bodies of water. It also clarifies the guidance for Presidential Permits on cross-border pipelines. Projects that receive a Presidential Permit issued by the President do not require a National Environmental Protection Act review because they have been deemed to be so necessary to the public interest.

The United States has produced more natural gas and oil each month in 2018 and 2019 than any other nation in the world. At the same time, U.S. energy companies have driven CO2 emissions to their lowest levels in a generation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

API Ohio is a division of API, which represents all segments of America’s oil and natural gas industry. Its more than 600 members produce, process, and distribute most of the nation’s energy. The industry supports 10.3 million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of more than 47 million Americans. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization. In its first 100 years, API has developed more than 700 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.

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