Markey, Grijalva urge pause on deepwater oil terminal approvals

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) on Friday called on the Biden administration to pause approvals for deepwater oil export terminals.

In a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD), Markey and Grijalva called for the approval criteria for deepwater terminals to be expanded to factor in criteria like public health, environmental justice and impact on climate change.

The criteria currently requires MARAD to determine whether such ports “will be in the national interest and consistent with national security and other national policy goals and objectives, including energy sufficiency and environmental quality.”

In its most recent approval, MARAD cleared the Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT) off the coast of Texas in November 2022, though applications are still pending for three further terminals. Only one further terminal is currently online.

If the SPOT facility were to come online, it would have the capacity to move 2 million barrels daily, the largest U.S. expert terminal, for an estimated 232 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in total, according to MARAD.

Grijalva and Markey noted that MARAD has never denied an export facility approval and took issue with the determination that allowing such facilities to come online is in keeping with the national interest. They further pointed to an executive order President Biden issued in 2021 that requires federal agencies to suspend operations that do not comport with the administration’s public health and environmental goals.

“Broadening MARAD’s interpretation of national interest — which already requires an assessment of the impact on energy sufficiency and environmental quality — to more fully include environmental justice, climate, and public health considerations would be consistent with President Biden’s directive. Such a step would also recognize that the anticipated emissions from these oil export facility projects would counteract the benefits of the historic climate investments in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).”

The Hill has reached out to the Transportation Department for comment.