Ocasio-Cortez seeks language in budget to block pipelines

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is eyeing the budget as a tool for blocking the construction of pipelines.

An amendment proposed by the lawmaker would bar the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from using “the discharge of dredged or fill material resulting from an activity to construct a pipeline for the transportation of oil or gas.” 

Such a move would block the Corps from repairing or working on about 8,000 pipeline projects each year, according to HuffPost, which first reported on the language.

The amendment, which has not yet been voted on, comes as courts have blocked a number of controversial pipelines.

Earlier this month the U.S. District Court for D.C. ordered the shutdown of the Dakota Access pipeline, which crosses Native American lands in its 1,200-mile project route from North Dakota to Illinois. An appeals court later paused the shutdown, giving the project more time to fight back in court.

Then the Atlantic Coast pipeline backers announced they would shelve the controversial project amid a number of legal battles.

Democrats have already added a number of environmental measures to the budget.

A $259.5 billion spending package passed by the House last week blocked drilling in the arctic, controversial hunting tactics and a major Trump environmental rollback.