One of the projects will connect with an export terminal in Louisiana for liquefied natural gas. Gulf Coast, while the third is located in New York State. Two of the projects will expand gas production in the U.S. In a related development, FERC approved three natural gas projects that have been pending before the panel for months. The commission said it will seek further public comment before making a final decision. The panel voted unanimously Thursday to step back from that commitment, which is now labeled as a draft and would apply only to projects filed after FERC finalizes the policy statements. The panel said at the time that the new guidance would take effect immediately and apply to pending and future gas projects. The statements were approved on a 3-to-2 vote along party lines, with Glick and two other Democratic commissioners supporting the policy changes and two Republicans opposed. 17 meeting, the energy commission approved policy statements directing officials to consider how pipelines and other natural gas projects affect climate change and environmental justice. Industry leaders told them the policy changes “raise additional questions that could benefit from further clarification,” Glick said.Īt a Feb. “I’m not going to do anything for political purposes,” he told reporters, adding that he and other commissioners have had discussions with numerous pipeline and natural gas companies since the panel approved the climate policy last month. “At a time when we should be looking for ways to expedite the approval of these important projects, the (energy) commission has chosen on a purely partisan basis to do the exact opposite,” McConnell wrote in a letter Thursday, hours before the panel backtracked on the climate proposal.Ĭlimate activists accused FERC of bowing to political pressure, a claim FERC Chairman Richard Glick denied. READ MORE: Satellites seek out methane leaks from pipelines, oil fields, landfills and farms Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called the climate policy “baffling,” while Senate Energy Committee Chairman Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said the agency’s “reckless decision to add unnecessary roadblocks” to approval of natural gas projects “puts the security of our nation at risk.” Industry groups and key lawmakers had criticized a proposal approved last month to tighten climate rules, saying it was poorly timed amid a push for increased natural gas exports following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said a plan to consider climate effects will now be considered a draft and will only apply to future projects. WASHINGTON (AP) - Amid pushback from industry and lawmakers in both parties, federal energy regulators on Thursday scaled back plans to consider how natural gas projects affect climate change and environmental justice.
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