New policy statements have been issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission stating that the approval process for natural gas pipes and liquified natural gases facilities will consider greenhouse gas emissions as well as environmental justice impacts in determining if the infrastructure projects are in good public interest.
Although not binding, the policy statements released last month could change the way natural gas pipelines are approved and approved by the commission. Under its new approach, the commission would be required to determine whether a project is actually needed to meet the energy demands of a given region and whether it is in the public interest, with its benefits outweighing its potential adverse impacts, such as air pollution or threats to groundwater.
The interim guidelines, which went into effect on April 4 but are open to public comment, require environmental impact statements from all projects that emit more than 100,000 metric tons per year.
Many methane is released into the atmosphere from liquified natural gaz facilities and pipelines, either because of accidents or during routine maintenance and repairs. Methane, a climate super-pollutant, is 80 times more potent that carbon dioxide over a 20 year period.
Although climate advocacy groups have welcomed FERCs policies statements, opponents argue they could have detrimental impacts on the ability of industry to transport natural gas and export liquified gas. This is because it requires a highly energy-intensive process that cools natural gas to -259 degrees Fahrenheit.
U.S. Sen. John Barraso (R-Wyo.During a hearing held by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on March 3, John Barraso (Republican of Wyoming) took aim at the new FERC policies.
He said that these policies would make it almost impossible to construct new natural gas infrastructures or upgrade existing facilities in the United States.
Senator Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), shared a similar view during the hearing. He said that some are trying to kill fossil fuels, which have made our energy reliable as well as affordable.
Richard Glick (FERCs chairman) said that the policies were in response to court decisions where the pipeline approvals of the commission were vacated. This was because the commission did not adequately determine the need for the pipelines to supply heat or electricity to consumers.
Glick stated that the commissions approach was now one in which developers’ proposal were considered conclusive proof that a project is needed.
David Wochner is the area leader of K&L Gates’ global policy and regulatory practice. He said that the heart of FERCs current policy is its considerations of climate change impacts due to projects greenhouse gas emission.
Wochner said that they provide very little guidance in the interim statement regarding how they will go about doing this.
He and others raised concerns about the lack of clarity for developers regarding emissions and mitigation methods to reduce them.
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Ted Kelly, an attorney for energy markets regulation at the Environmental Defense Fund, stated that the commission’s decision to require mitigation, without specifying a set of strict rules or emission reduction methods, gives developers more flexibility based upon the nature and scale a project. They would have been less happy if FERC had imposed a strict requirement that only one method of mitigation could be used, he suggested.
The new policies of the commissions do not retroactively apply for projects already approved, but they may be applicable in cases where a project might require significant changes.
Spire STL is a 66-mile natural gasoline pipeline that runs through Illinois and Missouri. It connects St. Louis to the Appalachian Basin natural gas fields. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., revoked Spires approval. Circuit in June 2021. Spire is America’s fifth largest publicly traded natural-gas company.
The court found that the commission didn’t adequately decide whether the Spire STL pipe was needed on the market or was in public interest. The new policies of the commission require that the pipeline, which is already fully constructed and transporting natural gases, be reviewed.
Kelly stated that he believes there is at most a chance that a commission will find that the pipeline shouldn’t have been approved. He said that it would be very difficult because the pipeline is already in place.
However, he stated that it could take months to complete the review of the pipeline by the commission and even longer to determine if its policies have a greater impact on natural gas infrastructure.
Zoha Tunio
Reporter, Karachi, Pakistan
Zoha Tunio, a Roy W. Howard Fellow at Inside Climate News, focuses on environmental justice. She was previously a Newsline journalist, where she covered rights-based stories with a focus in gender justice and followed the development of start-ups in Pakistan. Zoha is a Fulbright scholar with a master’s degree in investigative journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. She lives with her parents in Karachi, Pakistan.