Tag: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Mountain Valley Pipeline Construction Can Proceed, Federal Agency Says

The 300-mile natural gas pipeline has been in legal limbo, facing court challenges from environmental groups and landowners.

The Mountain Valley Pipeline has permission from federal regulators to finish the project.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden signed a bill to raise the nation’s borrowing limit that also approved any remaining permits needed to complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

The 300-mile natural gas pipeline has been in legal limbo, facing court challenges from environmental groups and landowners.

On Wednesday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorized construction to resume on a segment through the Jefferson National Forest on the West Virginia-Virginia border.

It also cleared other remaining segments where the pipeline crosses waterways to proceed.

The project is a top priority for both of West Virginia’s U.S. senators, who’d made multiple attempts to include it in legislation.

FERC Nominee Faces Tough Questions About Role in Trump Coal Bailout Plan

The Trump administration’s nominee for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission faced tough questions from lawmakers Thursday. It was over whether the longtime energy lawyer could impartially serve at the agency after helping the administration craft its coal and nuclear power plant bailout plan.

Senators grilled Bernard McNamee, who served most-recently as executive director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Policy, over his involvement with the Energy Department’s policy to help struggling coal and nuclear power plants.

In one exchange, a fiery Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) pressed McNamee on his ability to be impartial.

“You played a key role in developing the legal underpinnings of a Trump energy bailout that was so flawed every member of the Federal Energy Commission rejected it,” Wyden said. “Now the President wants to put you on the commission that rejected the plan you wrote. This is not like having the fox guard the chicken coop, this is like putting the fox inside the chicken coop.”

McNamee told Wyden and others on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee he could separate his work at both the Energy Department on the coal plan with the independent nature and impartiality required at FERC.

The independent agency regulates the sale and transmission of electricity as well as interstate oil and natural gas pipelines.

“As to the issue, I think ultimately [it] is whether I would be an independent arbiter and be able to look at the facts and the law and make an independent choice,” he said. “I have no doubt that I can do that and that it won’t be influenced by politics.”

FERC in January ultimately rejected the Energy Department’s bailout policy in a unanimous vote. The administration has continued to work on a plan to prop up struggling utilities.

McNamee said he believed FERC’s role in the country’s energy markets should be resource-neutral.

“I think the primary thing for FERC is to make sure that they’re not picking and choosing what the resources should be, but ensuring that the markets are able function so resources can compete and that the market decides what’s the right resource,” he said.

But despite his even-keeled testimony, some Senators continued to express concern, especially after McNamee refused to commit to recusing himself if another coal bailout plan crossed FERC’s desk. Instead, he said he would seek the advice of the agency’s ethics counsel.

Sen. Angus King, an Independent from Maine, was one lawmaker who seemed to find that reasoning unacceptable.

“I don’t understand any argument where you would need to consult any counsel anywhere on earth to understand if you have a conflict of interest when it comes to this issue of the so-called grid resilience or price rule or any version thereof,” King said.

McNamee has a long history of working on energy issues, both in the private and public sectors. He worked as an energy policy advisor for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and as a lawyer at a Virginia-based law firm where he represented a variety of energy interests from solar to oil and gas.

This year, McNamee worked at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank that advocates for fossil fuels and has ties to the Koch brothers and American Legislative Exchange Council.

Feds Allow Atlantic Coast Pipeline Construction to Resume

Federal regulators gave the Atlantic Coast Pipeline the green light to restart construction Monday.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission halted construction of the 600-mile pipeline last month after a federal court threw out two of the project’s federal permits.

In early August, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) needed to revisit a key endangered species permit. It also ruled the National Park Service (NPS) needed to reissue a right-of-way approval to allow the pipeline to pass under the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Until those were completed, FERC told pipeline officials most construction should stop.

Then, in a letter sent to Atlantic Coast Pipeline officials on Sept. 17, agency staff said both permits had been received and construction could resume.

“On September 11, 2018, the FWS issued a revised Biological Opinion (BO), which included a modified Incidental Take Statement, for the ACP and [Supply Header Project],” wrote Terry Turpin, director of FERC’s Office of Energy Projects.  “Additionally, on September 14, 2018, the NPS issued a new right-of-way permit for crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway. Construction activities along project areas which had previously received a notice to proceed may now continue.”

ACP spokesperson Aaron Ruby said in an emailed statement that pipeline developers are “pleased” construction can move ahead and will closely monitor the wet weather conditions before resuming work.

“We commend the Fish & Wildlife Service and National Park Service for promptly addressing the issues raised by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and FERC’s Stop Work Order,” he stated. “The agencies have reaffirmed that the project does not threaten any federally protected species and is consistent with the public use of the Blue Ridge Parkway.”

Environmental groups have repeatedly challenged the pipeline, arguing it’s not needed and will harm water and other natural resources across its route in West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. 

“Rather than taking the time to address the major problems we have seen in federal agencies’ reviews of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, these agencies continue to rush through a rubberstamp process that ignores legal requirements – not to mention the public interest,” said D.J. Gerken, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmetnal Law Center, in a statement.

FERC’s decision to life the stop work order on the ACP follows the agency’s decision to allow the Mountain Valley Pipeline to resume the bulk of its construction despite having not yet gotten new federal permits as required by the federal court. 

In that case, agency staff wrote order to “mitigate further environmental impacts” construction along rights-of-way could resume, except on federal lands.

Feds OK Restart of Mountain Valley Pipeline Construction

Federal regulators today gave the Mountain Valley Pipeline the green light to restart the majority of construction.

In a letter sent to Mountain Valley Pipeline officials, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said the pipeline’s continued construction hiatus could cause more environmental harm than good. In order to “mitigate further environmental impacts” the agency said construction along rights-of-way could resume, except on federal lands.

“In consultation with staff, I have determined that protection of the environment along the Project’s right-of-way across non-federal land is best served by completing construction and restoration activities as quickly as possible,” wrote Terry Turpin, director of FERC’s Office of Energy Projects.

Construction of the 303-mile pipeline was halted earlier this month by FERC, after a federal court threw out two key federal permits.

In its stop-work order, the agency said only construction necessary to stabilize areas already under construction could continue while the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service reissue approvals for pipeline construction in Jefferson National Forest.

In the letter to MVP officials, FERC noted a significant amount of the pipeline’s route has already been cleared.

“Approximately sixty-five percent of the right-of-way between Mileposts 77 and 303 has been cleared of vegetation, with a significant portion of that length having been graded,” the letter states.

In the interim, MPV has installed temporary erosion control measures, but the agency said those measures may be inadequate and could pose threats to plants, wildlife and waterbodies if it takes a significant amount of time for multiple federal agencies to issue the new pipeline permits.

To prevent further environmental impacts, FERC said construction can resume along all rights-of-way not on federal lands. Construction is still prohibited on the crossing of the Weston and Gauley Bridge Turnpike in Braxton County. The pipeline also cannot resume work in the Jefferson National Forest.

In a supplemental analysis released on Aug. 24, BLM officials presented FERC with alternative routes for the pipeline to cross through federal lands, but said the route previously approved by all federal agencies was deemed most appropriate.

In an emailed statement MVP spokesperson Natalie Cox said pipeline operators agreed with BLM’s review and looked forward to working with other agencies to resume work across the entire 303-mile route.

“With the FERC granting approval for MVP to recommence its construction activities, with exception of areas in proximity to the Weston Gauley Bridge Turnpike Trail and Jefferson National Forest, we are pleased that we will soon be able to bring back a significant amount of workers who were temporarily suspended from their duties on the project,” she said.

In a joint letter issued today, FERC Commissioners Cheryl LaFleur and Richard Glick said they had “significant concerns” with the agency’s decision to allow construction to restart while permits remain outstanding.

They said the decision also highlights a broader concern as to how the agency should respond to federal court rulings that invalidate federal approvals necessary for the pipeline’s broader FERC approval. LaFleur and Glick suggest agency staff should stop issuing decisions when court rulings affect pipeline activities and instead allow the whole Commission to rule.

“Ultimately, it is the Commission’s responsibility to ensure the project is in the public interest,” the wrote.

Environmental Groups Criticize Mountain Valley Pipeline's Stabilization Plan

Federal regulators have approved parts of the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s plan to stabilize areas of the pipeline’s route that are under construction and ensure that work already in progress does not become an environmental liability.

The document, mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission after it halted all construction of the 303-mile pipeline earlier this month, drew criticism from environmental groups that said the plan effectively greenlights continued pipeline construction.

FERC stopped all construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline on Aug. 3 following a ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, except in cases where it might be necessary to stabilize areas with ongoing construction such as right of ways.

The plan, released Thursday, lays out a variety of actions the pipeline intends to take to comply with environmental standards. They include filling some dug trenches with dirt and seeding steep slopes to temporarily stabilize some areas already under construction.

In a letter issued Friday evening, Terry Turpin, director of FERC’s Office of Energy Projects, told pipeline developers to move forward with the approved measures.

“As indicated in your plan, the shutdown presents challenges for stabilization and restoration, and we agree that there are some clear advantages to allowing some limited construction activities to proceed to prevent potential safety and environmental impacts,” the letter stated.

The majority of the plan’s suggestions were accepted. Most of the “pending” measures are related to how to stabilize steep slopes.

The Sierra Club and other environmental groups say the pipeline’s stabilization plan effectively allows the developers to complete construction across a total of 45 miles of its route. 

“Bless their hearts, but not in a million years,” Sierra Club Virginia chapter director Kate Addleson said in a statement.

According to the document, developers said they intend to install the pipeline and close the trench for 26 miles of the MVP’s route where trench has already been dug and pipe is ready to go. FERC approved this measure.

In a letter submitted to the agency, the Indian Creek Watershed Association also expressed concerns with the pipeline’s stabilization plan and urged the agency to reject it.

“This is a ploy by MVP/EQT that has little to do with environmental protection and much to do with convenience and economic benefit to the company,” the Union, W. Va.-based group wrote. “MVP seeks to install 45 miles of pipe during an official “stop work” period — more than four times the 11 miles of pipe

MVP spokeswoman Natalie Cox said in an emailed statement that the project’s priorities have always been to construct the pipeline in the “safest manner possible and ensure “the highest levesl of enviromental protections.

“We are pleased that the FERC appreciates MVP’s desire to uphold our environmental responsibilities by allowing the project to stabilize the right-of-way and to take certain measures to minimize unnecessary erosion and sedimentation occurrences as we work with the agencies to resolve the issues related to the August 3, 2018 stop work order,” she wrote.

08/10/18: This story was updated at 9:15 p.m. to include a statement from the Mountain Valley Pipeline and reflect FERC’s decision to approve parts of the project’s stabilization plan.

Group Requests Stay of Mountain Valley Pipeline Construction

A citizen group says an environmental project manager for the government has been wrongly signing off on the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported Saturday that Bold Alliance says the project manager at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission lacks the authority to approve construction. It says the commission also can’t delegate approval authority to Paul Friedman.

The group previously asked the commission to rehear notices to proceed signed by Friedman between January and February. The request was denied May 4. Bold Alliance lawyer Carolyn Elefant has since asked the court to rehear the case and issue a stay of construction. Mountain Valley Pipeline filed a motion to dismiss the request last week.

The newspaper reports a spokeswoman for the commission would not comment on the litigation.

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