Two major energy pipeline projects, which would have carried essential fuel from oil and gas fields to the Southeast and the Midwest, were shut down this week.
On Sunday, Virginia’s Dominion Energy and North Carolina’s Duke Energy announced they would abandon the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project, a multi-billion dollar project proposed in 2014 that would carry shale gas from West Virginia to the Southeast U.S. The companies cited rising costs and untenable regulatory hurdles propagated by well-funded environmental lobbyists.
Then, on Monday, U.S. District Judge James A. Boasberg ruled that the Dakota Access Pipeline, which would transport oil from North Dakota to Illinois, must shut down by August 5.
U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette and leaders from across the energy sector have condemned the closures, lamenting lost jobs.
In a statement, USEA Executive Director Barry Worthington said: “I am disappointed to see two major, and necessary infrastructure projects abandoned at the behest of environmental lobbyists with a myopic view and an ideology-driven agenda. Cancelling these two pipeline projects leaves thousands of Americans without long-term employment, and reduced access to affordable, reliable energy resources.
“When you’re trying to make ends meet, especially during a pandemic, families need to rely on affordable energy supplies and electric and gas bills that are stable, not higher than necessary, because supplies can’t get to market.
“Environmental lobbyists, who like to layer on redundant regulations to already laborious, expensive projects, are hurting Americans, but also perpetuating global energy poverty.
“More than 1 billion people do not have access to electricity or home heating, or adequate clean water supplies. These pipeline decisions make this situation worse.
