The EPA is under scrutiny again over a plan to approve new firefighting equipment for a pipeline that would carry natural gas from West Virginia to New Jersey.
The plan was first revealed by the Department of Justice in April, months before President Trump took office.
Trump and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt are facing questions about whether the EPA has properly considered and vetted the project and whether the pipeline will meet environmental and safety requirements.
The EPA has repeatedly said that the pipeline is compliant with the Act and that it’s expected to be built.
But an investigation by The Hill revealed that the agency has not submitted a detailed environmental impact statement or proposed mitigation plans for the project.
The Hill’s investigation also uncovered new information about the EPA’s plan to grant a new easement for the pipeline.
According to a draft environmental impact study, the pipeline would run through a watershed and would run between the state of New Jersey and the state capital of Trenton, New Jersey, between the Hudson River and New Jersey Bay.
Under the easement, the company could begin construction of the pipeline at the end of 2020, the draft environmental assessment states.
However, the EPA said in a statement that the easements granted under the plan are not subject to review under the Clean Air Act.
The agency said the easings granted under a separate permit application “are subject to environmental impact assessments.”
