Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription, on Patreon, or on Stripe. Help us produce all of the high-quality, original content we publish week after week despite the challenges of content-scraping AI, antisocial media, inflation, and other hurdles.
New Iteration of Nationwide Permit 12 Greenlights Environmental Destruction
Washington, D.C. — Environmental groups sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today over the Trump administration’s plan to fast-track the construction of oil and gas pipelines through wetlands, streams and rivers nationwide. The Corps’ latest issuance of Nationwide Permit 12, which was previously struck down by federal courts, would destroy wildlife habitat and endanger drinking water sources from coast to coast.
Today’s lawsuit asserts that the Corps approved the permit in January without analyzing the environmental dangers of pipelines, including oil spills and the destruction of tens of thousands of acres of waterways that people and endangered wildlife rely on.
In 2020 a federal court ruled that the Endangered Species Act requires the Corps to consult with expert wildlife agencies to ensure federally protected animals and plants are not harmed by the nationwide permit program. However, the Corps ignored that order and reissued the permit without considering the potential harm from Nationwide Permit 12 on imperiled species.
