A large coalition of environmental activist groups is calling on the Biden administration to use a little-known regulatory maneuver to block major natural gas expansion projects in the Pacific Northwest.
In a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan, more than 140 organizations, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Columbia River Guardians, and Friends of the Earth, urged the agency to It called for intervention in the press approval process. Project (GTNXP). They argued that the measure was necessary because the project would undermine decarbonization goals and cause pollution.
“The burning of fossil fuels is the main source of greenhouse gases that cause climate change, so phasing out fossil fuel burning as quickly as possible is agreed by an overwhelming consensus of climate scientists. “This is a policy imperative,” the organizations wrote to Mr. Reagan in a letter they obtained. By Fox News Digital.
“We are in the midst of a critical few years in which concerted action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions can still avoid locking in the worst effects of climate change,” they continued. “The president himself calls climate change an 'existential threat.'”
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President Biden met with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan at a White House environmental justice ceremony last year. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
According to energy developer TC Energy, the $75 million project will leverage the company's existing infrastructure to increase mainline capacity of the active GTN pipeline by 150,000 dekatherms per day, adding approximately 50 million dekatherms per day to the region's additional capacity. This will be enough to power 10,000 homes. The GTN pipeline passes through Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, serving customers in California.
The expansion project, which will upgrade three specific compressor stations in an existing system that has transported natural gas for decades, was approved by federal energy regulations in October after months of delays due to concerns about climate impacts. Approval was obtained from the Commission (FERC).
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But in a letter to Mr. Regan, the eco-group said the Environmental Protection Agency had invoked its authority under the Clean Air Act to ensure that FERC's environmental review of the project was “unsatisfactory from a public health, welfare, or environmental quality standpoint.” He said he may consider it “sufficient” and inquire about it. Submitted to the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).
The group cited a previous example in which the EPA invoked authority when it intervened in FERC's rulemaking in 1996. Additionally, they noted that EPA's authority is not time-limited or limited by post-determination steps in the process.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Willie Phillips is awaiting testimony at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing in March 2022. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
“We urge EPA to refer this decision to CEQ for several reasons: the enormous social costs this project would pose to society, the resulting emissions, and the FERC's apparent failure to meet its legal obligations, making it impossible to fulfill its commitments: [National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)]This includes refusing to consider several EPA recommendations as a cooperating agency. and the conflict with CEQ NEPA guidance,” they continued.
And they pointed to the EPA's own 2022 comments on GTNXP, revealing its “environmental concerns.”
But the group's efforts were slammed by TC Energy, which noted that frigid conditions are widespread across the country and Americans rely primarily on natural gas for heat. According to Fox Weathera recent arctic explosion has caused subzero temperatures, at least 10 deaths and transportation delays across the country, and a second blast is expected to affect 75% of Americans this weekend. Masu.
TC Energy spokesperson Michael Taddeo told Fox News Digital: “As the nation experiences cold weather, it is imperative that consumers across the country have access to affordable and reliable natural gas supplies.” Ta. “Since 2014, demand for existing GTN systems has surged by more than 50 percent. The GTNXP project consists of limited software and other upgrades to existing infrastructure to address this increased demand and increase consumption. This will help lower natural gas prices for consumers.”
“FERC’s bipartisan approval of this project reiterates that this project is in the public interest and is critical to keeping energy affordable and reliable in California and the Pacific Northwest. I have confirmed that,” Tadeo said. “With strong support from unions, consumers and elected officials, TC Energy remains committed to bringing this important project online as quickly as possible.”
Rep. Lori Chavez Delemer (R-Ore.) is one of several lawmakers who asked FERC to approve natural gas pipeline projects. She argued that it would “support domestic energy production and strengthen energy security, while also helping to reduce utility bills for families.” (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Almost half of U.S. homes rely on natural gas piped directly to the furnace for heating. An additional 40% rely on electricity to power their electric space heaters, the majority of which is generated by natural gas across the U.S., according to a Washington Post analysis of the American Community Survey from 2017 to 2021. There is.
Still, environmentalists have repeatedly pushed for efforts to reduce natural gas connections in new construction and replace natural gas-fired power plants with green energy sources.
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“How can we provide the energy that consumers most need if we do not have the capacity to provide it or are not allowed to upgrade or renovate equipment? We're at a loss. It's the energy that growth is already demanding,” Dan Kirshner, executive director of the Northwest Gas Association, told FOX News Digital. “It's not about the future. It's about online demand.”
“These activists and others are giving their all to even the smallest projects,” Kirshner said. “This is not an expansion in the truest sense of the word. There's no piping in the ground. This is an upgrade. We're upgrading our equipment and software to get a little more gas into the system, and we're We respond to the needs we know.”Especially during this coldest time of the year. ”
In addition to the Northwest Gas Association, GTNXP has received support from local labor unions and Republican lawmakers.
