Putting the Biden Executive Orders into Context – Potential Upstream and Downstream Impacts to the Midstream Industry

A series of executive orders issued by President Joe Biden during the first weeks of his administration put the midstream industry on notice that government policy would be shifting away from Trump-era policies focused on permitting efficiencies to a renewed focus on climate change and environmental justice. These specific EOs include:

EO 13990 — “Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,” issued Jan. 20, prioritizing climate considerations in U.S. policy that required a “pause” in approvals of oil and gas leases on public lands or in offshore waters. Among other things, EO 13990 established an Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases on updating the social cost of carbon, social cost of nitrous oxide and social cost of methane estimates used to assess monetized damages associated with incremental increases in greenhouse gases. It also revoked numerous Trump administration EOs that prioritized permitting speed over environmental reviews and consideration of greenhouse gas emissions, including EO 13807 (Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure Projects) and EO 13783 (Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth).