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Trump pushes up to 20 years in prison for pipeline protesters

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The criminalization of pipeline opposition is ramping up.

The Trump administration is seeking to dramatically escalate federal penalties for pipeline protesters. Under newly proposed changes, pipeline protesters could face up to 20 years in prison for disrupting the construction of oil and gas infrastructure. The move echoes similarly harsh penalties for anti-pipeline activists being adopted in several states.

Updates proposed to the Transportation Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) released Monday would make interrupting pipeline construction or damaging existing pipelines a federal crime.

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According to the proposed PHMSA updates, first reported by Politico, “vandalism, tampering with, or impeding, disrupting or inhibiting the operation of” pipelines would be met with fines or potentially many years in jail. Under current law, damaging existing pipelines can lead to up to 20 years jail time, but those “under construction” are now a consideration as well along with “disruption” to pipelines.

Other components of the PHMSA updates include changing the threshold for damages incurred by a pipeline accident before an operator is required to report a problem; the proposal would double the $100,000 threshold currently in place.

The administration argues that the changes are key to ensuring safety.

At least one fossil fuel industry group immediately welcomed the updates. The Natural Gas Council (NGC) called the proposed changes a “positive step” and said that the organization looks “forward to reviewing PHMSA’s specific recommendations and to participating in the process to produce a bill that enhances the safety of the industry and the communities that we serve.” The NGC includes the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Gas Association (AGA) as members, among others.

But environmental groups and activists will likely oppose the proposed measures and are expected to seek legal action against the Trump administration. The updates are also likely to spark alarm among environmentalists as the proposal positions the federal government against pipeline protesters, marking a new frontier in the acrimonious relationship between the White House and fossil fuel infrastructure opponents.

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