The U.S. Maritime Administration will take over oversight of deepwater port licensing from the Coast Guard, a change the DOT says “will streamline environmental reviews, accelerate license approvals, and lower domestic energy costs.”
“The Deepwater Port Program is a key pillar of President Trump’s energy dominance strategy,” DOT Secretary Sean Duffy said in announcing the move Jan. 5. “With this change, we’ll soon accelerate project approvals so the nation can safely utilize more of its abundant natural resources, create more high paying jobs, and lower energy costs for American families.”
“We look forward to continuing to collaborate with our partners at the U.S. Coast Guard to make this process more efficient and fuel our energy economy for years to come,” said Marad Administrator Steve M. Carmel.
With overseeing the licensing process, Marad will assume environmental compliance and National Environmental Protection Act reviews. The Coast Guard will continue to support the process and keep responsibility for ensuring safety, design, construction, and operations of deepwater port facilities.
The federal Deepwater Port Act of 1974 established a licensing system for ownership, construction, operation, and decommissioning of deepwater port structures located beyond the U.S. territorial sea limit for the import and export of oil and natural gas.
Law sets out conditions that deepwater port license applicants must meet, “including minimization of adverse impacts on the marine environment and submission of detailed plans for construction, operation, and decommissioning of deepwater ports,” according to a DOT statement.
Since 1975 31 deepwater port license applications have been filed: 18 for importing liquified natural gas; five to export LNG, six for exporting oil and two for importing oil.
