DALLAS (KRLD) - President Trump is traveling to Texas Wednesday to announce executive action on oil and natural gas production. The White House would not release details before the visit but says the president will "streamline" permits for pipeline construction.
“The two Executive Orders the President will sign will help American energy companies avoid unnecessary red tape, allowing the U.S. to continue to be the undisputed global leader in crude oil and natural gas production for the foreseeable future,” the Trump Administration wrote in a statement.
The United States now produces 12 million barrels of oil each day, passing Russia and Saudi Arabia in production. In 2018, the U.S. became the world's leading producer of natural gas.
The Trump Administration says the changes will allow oil and natural gas to reach the market more easily. New York blocked pipeline construction, and the administration says that has led to higher prices in the Northeast.
The president will meet at a union hall in Crosby, 25 miles northeast of Houston. A chemical plant exploded in Crosby last week, killing one person and injuring two others, leading environmental groups to call for more regulation, not less.
"We could see similar problems with pipelines, which are prone to spills, fires or accidents that can be very dangerous," says Luke Metzger, the executive director of EnvironmentTexas.
Metzger says the president's choice to come to the Houston area shows a disregard for the health of people along the Texas Coast. He says the Houston area had already struggled with the environmental impact of Hurricane Harvey. Another non-profit compiled data from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that showed 8.3 million pounds of unauthorized emissions in the month after Harvey in 2017.
"I think it's really a slap in the face to the community and Houston area, which has just been suffering from accident after accident," Metzger says.