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<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element"> <font
size="-2"><a class="domain reader-domain"
href="https://theintercept.com/2019/08/19/oil-lobby-pipeline-protests/">https://theintercept.com/2019/08/19/oil-lobby-pipeline-protests/</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">Oil Lobbyist Touts Success in Effort to
Criminalize Pipeline Protests, Leaked Recording Shows</h1>
<div class="credits reader-credits">Lee Fang - August 19, 2019</div>
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<p><u>The American Fuel</u> & Petrochemical
Manufacturers, a powerful lobbying group that
represents major chemical plants and oil refineries,
including Valero Energy, Koch Industries, Chevron,
ExxonMobil, and Marathon Petroleum, has flexed its
muscle over environmental and energy policy for
decades. Despite its reach, AFPM channels dark money
and influence with little scrutiny.</p>
<p>The group is now leveraging its political power to
criminalize protests of oil and gas infrastructure.</p>
<p>In an audio recording obtained by The Intercept, the
group concedes that it has been playing a role behind
the scenes in crafting laws recently passed in states
across the country to criminalize oil and gas pipeline
protests, in response to protests over the Dakota
Access pipeline. The laws make it a crime to trespass
on public land used for “critical infrastructure,”
impose a fine or prison time for violators, and hold
protesters responsible for damage incurred during the
protest. Many of the laws also carry heavy fines to
groups and individuals who support such
demonstrations.</p>
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<p>The trade group, which was founded in 1902, has long
played an outsized role in shaping policy disputes.
Last year, AFPM and its members mobilized over <a
href="https://www.pdc.wa.gov/browse/more-ways-to-follow-the-money/committees/statewide?election_year=2018&category=Committees">$30
million</a> to defeat the <a
href="https://theintercept.com/2018/11/01/bp-washington-state-carbon-tax-initiative/">carbon
tax</a> proposed in Washington State, easily
outspending an environmentalist campaign funded by
philanthropist billionaires and small donors.</p>
<p>In June, Derrick Morgan, a senior vice president for
federal and regulatory affairs at AFPM, spoke at the
Energy & Mineral Law Foundation conference in
Washington, D.C., explaining the role his trade group
has played in criminalizing protests. AFPM did not
respond to a request for comment.</p>
<p>James G. Flood, a partner with law firm Crowell &
Moring’s lobbying practice, introduced Morgan as
“intimately involved” in crafting model legislation
that has been distributed to state lawmakers around
the country. The attendees at the event received
copies of the <a
href="https://www.alec.org/model-policy/critical-infrastructure-protection-act/">model
bill</a>, called the Critical Infrastructure
Protection Act, distributed through the American
Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative nonprofit
that serves as a nexus for corporate lobbyists to
author template legislation that is then sponsored by
state lawmakers affiliated with ALEC.</p>
<p>When the template legislation went out to hundreds of
ALEC member legislators, it was accompanied with a <a
href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6266212-Critical-Infrastructure-ALEC-Letter-Dec72017.html">letter</a> of
support from AFPM and others, first <a
href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pipeline-environmentalist-terrorism_us_5a85c2ede4b0058d55672250">reported</a> by
HuffPost. The ALEC task force that developed the
legislation also <a
href="https://www.prwatch.org/news/2017/12/13305/alec-hires-former-koch-staffer-lead-its-energy-task-force">included</a>
representatives from AFPM.</p>
<p>“So you see that, and you’re reading the materials as
well, that this model legislation would itemize
criminal trespass and also a liability for folks that
cause damage during protest,” Morgan said, citing the
Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access
pipeline in North Dakota.</p>
<p>“Another key aspect of it,” Morgan continued, “which
you also include, is inspiring organizations — so
organizations who have ill intent, want to encourage
folks to damage property and endanger lives — they are
also held liable.”</p>
<p>The legislative text Morgan described has been <a
href="https://polluterwatch.org/State-Bills-Criminalize-Peaceful-Protest-Oil-Gas-Critical-Infrastructure-pipelines">introduced</a>
in various forms in 22 states and passed in nine
states: Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee,
Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, South Dakota, and North
Dakota.</p>
<p><u>Any effort to</u> sabotage pipeline infrastructure
is already a federal crime. The AFPM-backed bills
expand the purview of law enforcement, classifying
peaceful protests that seek to block the construction
of pipelines as a violent threat.</p>
<p>For instance, the Oklahoma variation of the <a
href="https://legiscan.com/OK/text/HB1123/id/1603494">law</a>,
which copies much of the template legislation, creates
fines of at least $10,000, and imprisons, for up to a
year, demonstrators who have shown the “intent” to
have trespassed to damage or in any way disrupt an
infrastructure facility. Those convicted of damaging
or disrupting infrastructure face a minimum of 10
years in prison, as well as much as $100,000 in fines.</p>
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<p><img
src="https://theintercept.imgix.net/wp-uploads/sites/1/2019/08/EMLF-2019-Slides-1565722130.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&q=90&w=1024&h=584"
alt="EMLF-2019-Slides-1565722130"></p>
<p class="caption">A presentation slide from the
Energy & Mineral Law Foundation conference,
featuring oil and gas industry model legislation.</p>
<p class="caption">Image: Provided to The Intercept</p>
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<p>The Oklahoma bill, signed by then-Gov. Mary Fallin in
2017 also levels fines for organizations found to have
been “conspiring” with perpetrators, with penalties of
10 times the fines paid by perpetrators. This suggests
advocacy groups linked to protesters could be fined
from $100,000 to $1 million.</p>
<p>In Iowa, the <a
href="https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ba=SF2235&ga=87">legislation</a>,
signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds this year, creates
penalties of $85,000 to $100,000 for those convicted
of sabotaging critical infrastructure, which the law
defines broadly as any interruption to a variety of
services.</p>
<p>South Dakota’s <a
href="https://theintercept.com/2019/06/05/pipeline-protests-proposed-legislation-phmsa-alec/">version</a>
of the critical infrastructure protest law creates
civil penalties for “riot boosting,” which the law
signed by Gov. Kristi Noem, defines as anyone who
“directs, advises, encourages, or solicits other
persons participating in the riot.”</p>
<p>The version of the model legislation enacted in Iowa,
says Daniel Zeno, ACLU of Iowa Policy Director, “has
the potential to chill environmental protest, punish
public participation, and mischaracterize advocacy
protected by the First Amendment.” The ACLU has also
filed a lawsuit against the South Dakota version of
the bill, and is monitoring how the bill will be
enforced in other states to ensure free speech rights
aren’t curtailed.</p>
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<p>As The Intercept has previously <a
href="https://theintercept.com/2019/06/05/pipeline-protests-proposed-legislation-phmsa-alec/">reported</a>,
the Pennsylvania version of the pipeline protest
legislation, proposed this year, would require
demonstrators to reimburse the cost of policing the
demonstration. The bill defines demonstrations as “a
political rally or event, a demonstration, speech
making, the holding of vigils or religious services
and all other forms of conduct the primary purpose of
which is expressive activity or expression of views or
grievances.”</p>
<p>In his remarks, Morgan cited the costs associated
with dealing with the Dakota Access pipeline as the
impetus for the lobbying push. “We’ve seen a lot of
success at the state level, particularly starting with
Oklahoma in 2017,” Morgan said. “We’re up to nine
states that have passed laws that are substantially
close to the model policy that you have in your
packet.”</p>
<p>AFPM also <a
href="https://www.republicreport.org/2014/keystone-xl-refinery/">financed</a> a
variety of pro-pipeline advocacy groups to build the
appearance of public support for the projects,
particularly Keystone XL, and was highly involved in
the fight over DAPL.</p>
<p>The AFPM lobbyist also boasted that the template
legislation has enjoyed bipartisan support. In
Louisiana, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards signed the
version of the bill there, which is being challenged
by the Center for Constitutional Rights. Even in
Illinois, Morgan noted, “We almost got that across the
finish line in a very Democratic-dominated
legislature.” The bill did not pass as it got pushed
aside over time constraints at the end of the
legislative session.</p>
<p><u>Lobbying disclosure standards</u><strong> </strong>vary by
state, but evidence suggests AFPM and its member
companies have played a direct hand in getting bills
passed, moved along through committees, and signed
into law.</p>
<p>In Missouri, the witness list in support of the
pipeline protest bill <a
href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5755007-Missouri-SB-293-Witness-Slips-From-Senate.html">lists</a>
Peter Barnes, AFPM’s state and local outreach manager.
The Cheyenne office of law firm of Holland & Hart
reportedly crafted the pipeline protest bill proposed
in Wyoming on behalf of AFPM and provided the text for
a local GOP lawmaker to introduce, according to a
local <a
href="https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/critical-infrastructure-bill-succumbs-to-deadline/article_23929d4a-35c4-55d2-b83e-e2781d1b2b94.html">news
story</a>.</p>
<p>Emails <a
href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6266214-OK-Gov-Office-HB-1123-HB-2128.html">obtained</a>
by the investigative journalism nonprofit Documented
show efforts by the oil and gas lobby<strong> </strong>to
pressure Oklahoma’s governor to sign the pipeline
protest legislation. In one email, an assistant to the
governor relays a message from Valero lobbyist Julie
Klumpyan, noting that she had left a message urging
Fallin to sign the bill. “They think it will help
deter vandalism & disruptive actions,” wrote the
assistant. Valero is a prominent member of AFPM.</p>
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