Drilling, mines, other projects hastened by President Trump order

BILLINGS, MT. | By MATTHEW BROWN (AP) — Documents provided to The Associated Press show the Trump administration is seeking to fast track environmental reviews of dozens of major energy and infrastructure projects during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They include proposals for massive oil and gas fields, fuel pipelines, wind farms and highway projects in numerous states.

The move to speed up large project approvals comes after President Trump in June ordered the Interior Department and other agencies to scale back environmental reviews under special powers he has during the coronavirus emergency.

More than 60 projects targeted for expedited environmental review were detailed in a July 15 letter from a senior Interior official to a White House economic adviser.