The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued new draft guidance at the end of June intended to further permit streamlining generally and greenhouse gas (GHG) analysis specifically. The new guidance replaces previous CEQ guidance issued by the Obama Administration on how GHG effects should be estimated for projects during review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Whether and how a federal Agency must consider GHG emissions during NEPA review continues to be a controversial issue for pipeline construction and expansion projects that require federal permits.
Continue Reading Proposed CEQ Guidelines on Climate Change and NEPA Focus on Permit Streamlining
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In an Unpublished Decision, D.C. Circuit Approves FERC Certificate for Mountain Valley Pipeline
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Certificate of Convenience and Public Necessity to the Mountain Valley pipeline project in 2017, authorizing new construction of a 300-mile natural gas pipeline through West Virginia and Virginia. Several environmental and citizen groups challenged the FERC decision in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Among many issues raised, the petitioners argued that FERC failed to properly consider downstream impacts on climate change resulting from the combustion of gas transported by the new pipeline, as required by the Court’s 2017 decision in Sierra Club v. FERC. On February 19, 2019, the D.C. Circuit issued a short (five page) decision in the Mountain Valley case, Appalachian Voices et al v. FERC . The decision summarily dismissed all sixteen of the petitioners’ challenges to FERC’s Order.
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Continue Reading In an Unpublished Decision, D.C. Circuit Approves FERC Certificate for Mountain Valley Pipeline
EPA’s Replacement for the Clean Power Plan (the Proposed Affordable Clean Energy Rule): Potential Impacts to the Oil and Gas Industry
EPA’s proposed replacement for the Clean Power Plan, dubbed the “Affordable Clean Energy” rule, or “ACE,” is now open for comment. In short, the rule requires states to develop efficiency standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants with the intent of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Coal-fired power plants, and those involved in the production of coal, have a keen interest in the rule for obvious reasons—ACE targets them directly and could require capital projects costing millions.
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Continue Reading EPA’s Replacement for the Clean Power Plan (the Proposed Affordable Clean Energy Rule): Potential Impacts to the Oil and Gas Industry