In March 2021, FERC issued an order that creates new standards for evaluating the greenhouse gas emissions from pipeline projects, indicating that FERC will consider . In the initial policy statement, FERC approved its first changes since 1999 to its rules on certifying interstate natural gas pipelines under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA). Indeed, over the last nearly 100 years, the public convenience and necessity standard has consistently been viewedby both FERC and the courtsas encompassing environmental considerations. Faults FERC Policy In Nixing Pipeline Approval. Columbia Law School Mountain Valley pipeline get FERC authorization to resume construction The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)i.e., the federal agency responsible for approving interstate gas pipelinesyesterday announced two major statements explaining how it proposes to: (1) realign its fossil fuel infrastructure approval process with the Natural Gas Act (NGA)'s mandate to only approve projects that serve the public int. Company says Manchin-backed pipeline could bring fuel this winter after (PF06-29), Sonora Pipeline, LLC (transp LNG) (PF05-15), Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline LLC (PF06-16), Gulf South Pipeline Company, LP (PF06-17; 23), Rockies Express Pipeline LLC (PF06-3)(KM/Sempra), TransColorado Gas Transmission Co. (PF06-20), Questar Overthrust Pipeline Co. (PF06-19), Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp (PF06-2), Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, L.L.C. Klass explains that, when opponents challenged the order in court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. While that phrase sounds warm and fuzzy, it is completely content free and in the eye of the beholder. Separate from the policy statement, FERCs interim plan for quantifying natural gas projects greenhouse gas emissions also lays out, for the first time, how the agency should determine whether projects climate impact may be significant.. When FERC fails to consider the present and future need for a new natural gas pipeline in the context of policies that mandate a transition away from fossil fuels, FERC fails to fulfill its duty to manage energy costs, Klass asserts. . Although FERC must also assess the environmental impact of a proposed pipeline and may reject a pipeline on the basis of environmental concerns, Klass observes that FERC has never done so. FERC had suspended work on Mountain Valley, a pipeline from West Virginia to Virginia, due to litigation over the project's Biological Opinion from the U.S. But just one month after FERC issued the updated policy, FERC voted to reclassify the document as a draft and seek additional public input. Crude oil, gasoline, heating oil, diesel, propane, and other liquids including biofuels and natural gas liquids. Washington, DC - Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission again acted as a rubber stamp for the fossil fuel industry in issuing a 3:1 approval of two liquified gas (LNG) export terminals, Texas LNG, Rio Grande LNG and the associated Rio Bravo Pipeline, despite not adequately evaluating the environmental impacts of the projects and amidst . in weighing whether a project is required by the public convenience and necessity. However, a 2020 Sabin Center study found that FERC often bases its decisions solely or primarily on economic factors, and gives little consideration to environmental impacts. June 28, 2023. . Today is a historic day, said Gillian Giannetti, an attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Councils Sustainable FERC Project. To do that, other federal agencies typically use the so-called social cost of carbon, which reflects the cost, expressed in dollars per ton, of current and future damage caused by carbon dioxide emissions. FERC Commissioner Mark C. Christie, among other opponents of the updated policy, argued that the added weight it gave to environmental factors overstepped FERCs limited authority as an economic regulator. We estimate that over 0.43 Bcf/d of new natural gas pipeline capacity was completed in the first quarter of 2022. Sen. Joe Manchin Friday lauded the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for reversing a February policy statement on gas pipelines, after slamming it and demanding its chairman do his. Many of the challenges centered on FERCs assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with pipeline development. In other cases, pipeline approvals could decrease emissions, at least in the short-term, if the availability of gas reduces the use of coal for electricity generation, for example. 435 West 116th Street Interested parties have until April 25 to file comments on the draft policy statements, with any reply comments due by May 25. on the part of the applicant to transfer, sell, or assign to any other entity the facility or facilities for which approval is sought. FERC has a pattern of rubber-stamping these certificates. Take notice that on June 15, 2023, Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC (Mountain Valley), requested that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) grant an extension of time until June 18, 2026, to complete construction of the MVP Southgate Project (Southgate Project) and place the Southgate Project facilities into service, as authorized in the June 18, 2020 Order Issuing . will no longer be the sole factor the Commission considers. It signaled that project proponents would be asked to provide specific information detailing how the gas to be transported by a proposed project would ultimately used, why the project is needed to serve that use, and the expected utilization rate of the project. This will better enable FERC to assess both demand and the real impacts from overbuilding capacity to areas that have enough infrastructure and capacity. Contrary to Democratic commissioners claims that it will provide greater certainty for the gas industry, the interim policy creates more questions for gas developers, said Amy Andryszak, president and CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America. For example, in a 2017 decisionSierra Club v. FERCthe D.C. In one example, the policy statement seeks to expand the scope of impacts on landowners, moving beyond the economic impact of eminent domain to include unquantifiable complaints from landowners. Tags: Natural Gas Pipelines Blanket Certificates Intrastate Transportation Landowner Topics Issued Date CP20-30-000 Texas Eastern Transmission, LP/Middlesex Extension Project 264.00 FERC Announces Steps to Prevent Approval of Unnecessary Natural Gas The Alberta Xpress Project is a 0.17 Bcf/d project owned by TC Energy that will use existing capacity on the Great Lakes Gas Transmission (GLGT) system and the ANR pipeline and will add a new compressor station in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana. Circuit Court of Appeals has already held that, where the gas carried by a pipeline is intended to be combusted in power plants or other facilities, the emissions associated with combustion are reasonably foreseeable. So, presumably, FERC will quantify downstream emissions where it knows that the gas carried by a pipeline is intended for combustion. FERC Proposes IBR Standards, Registration to Improve Grid Reliability. FERCs newly announced, Interim Greenhouse Gas Emissions Policy Statement, represents its first attempt to tackle climate change, which FERCs Chair Richard Glick has rightly described as , an existential threat to our security, economy, environment, and, ultimately, the health of individual citizens. Chair Glick has further recognized that, [u]nlike many of the challenges that our society faces, we know with certainty what causes climate change: It is the result of [greenhouse gas] emissions, including carbon dioxide and methane, which can be released in large quantities through the production and consumption of natural gas., Despite this, until relatively recently, FERC had largely avoided discussing the climate change impacts of its decisions, with past Commissioners often emphasizing that FERC is an energy regulator, not an environmental one. FERC issued Order No. Circuit Court of Appeals held that FERC is required to consider downstream greenhouse gas emissions, at least in some circumstances. Start Preamble. In many cases, FERC has limited its assessment to the emissions arising directly from pipeline construction and operation, and refused to consider indirect emissions from the upstream production and downstream consumption of natural gas transported via the pipeline. At yesterdays meeting announcing the policy statements, FERC Commissioner Mark Christie described them as legal weapons that will be wielded against every single natural gas project, making the costs and uncertainties of even pursuing a project exponentially more daunting and thus leading to fewer pipelines being built and less reliable gas supplies. But Chatterjee left the commission in August, leaving FERC deadlocked on the issue. The interim GHG policy also contemplates consideration of downstream combustion of natural gas in the pipeline approval process. Henceforward, the commission must weigh all of the benefits against all of the adverse impacts, FERC staff said. Texas Eastern Transmission, LP, South Texas Expansion. In one case, the court ordered FERC to redo permits for two LNG projects to better account for their impacts on climate and environmental justice. ANR Pipeline Company This leaves any company seeking to build a pipeline in an impossible situation, subject to the whim of FERC but given no firm criteria for what it needs to include in an application for approval. FERCs authority to approve interstate pipelines stems from the NGA which was passed in 1938a time when gas was a limited resource to be conservatively rationed. The study noted that FERC conducts environmental reviews for pipeline projects under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) but found that those reviews typically have no or little bearing on [FERCs] decisions., This has prompted criticism from the courts. We wont have to see the delays we saw, where theres an EA first and [then] a supplemental EIS, Ladin said. The project includes 13.1 miles of new pipeline and two new compressor stations that will deliver natural gas to the proposed Plaquemines LNG Project in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Gas pipeline approvals Speaking of natural gas, FERC continues to face criticisms for its approvals of new interstate natural gas pipelines and liquefied natural gas terminals. In announcing the new Interim Greenhouse Emissions Policy Statement, FERC indicated that it will quantify the reasonably foreseeable greenhouse gas emissions associated with pipeline projects, including emissions resulting from construction and operation of the project. Notably, however, FERC did not indicate when upstream and downstream emissions will be considered reasonably foreseeable and stated that this will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Under the Natural Gas Act, FERC is responsible for ensuring suppliers charge customers just and reasonable rates. That is the sort of policy statement that provides certainty. But Klass observes that FERC has failed to consider clean energy implications in pipeline approvals as it has in the electricity contexteven though precedent suggests it has authority to do so. Barrasso had also urged FERC to act quickly on a proposal from Southeast utilities to form an automated energy exchange in the region, but the commission was unable to come to a decision by last weeks monthly open meeting. Published: Jun. Our tracker also lists pipelines that were completed last quarter. Monetizing Climate Damages Discloses Information, Facilitates Significance 33 Determinations, and Informs Decisionmaking As Required By NEPA. by Henrik Nilsson March 24, 2022 in Natural Gas Reading Time: 3 mins read 0 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved three significant interstate natural gas pipeline projects at today's monthly meeting, and Chairman Richard Glick said he is confident the projects will survive legal scrutiny. Come test out some of the products still in development and let us know what you think! However, FERC has previously refused to use the SCC, arguing that it has methodological limitations that undermine its usefulness. Both draft policy statements were passed by 3-2 majorities on partisan lines, with Democratic appointees in the majority. A FERC policy statement is essentially a guideline for how FERC plans to approach consideration of a given issue. For example, in the instance of the St. Louis pipeline, the court vacated its permit after the project had been operational for several years, and the pipelines future is now murky. These consequences not only adversely affected pipeline investors, but also landowners and consumers. The U.S., with an abundance of natural gas, is a logical alternative provided we are able to build more pipelines to move the gas to market. (PF15-12 ) Atlantic Bridge Project, Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC (PF14-23) Leach Xpress Project, Columbia Gulf Transmission, LLC Rayne Express Expansion, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, L.L.C. . 1953, and go to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; submarine cables, which are covered by Executive Order 10530 of May 10, .
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