U.S. to Review Gas Pipeline Policy for First Time Since 1999

SEATTLE (Oil Monster):  U.S. energy regulators embarked upon a wide-ranging review of how interstate natural-gas pipelines are approved, amid concerns that current guidelines have become outdated following the shale boom.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will examine the use of eminent domain, how the need for a pipeline is assessed and the extent to which greenhouse gas emissions should be taken into account in pipeline approvals.

"Given the changes in landscape since it was first put into place, reviewing our certificate policy statement for any possible improvement is good regulatory practice," Republican Commissioner Neil Chatterjee said at a commission meeting Thursday.

The commission was among more than a dozen federal agencies that signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this month aimed at slashing the time needed for environmental reviews and permitting on major infrastructure projects. The timing of the agency’s own review is “quite coincidental but perhaps fortuitous,” Kevin McIntyre, its chairman, said at a monthly meeting on Thursday.

The review also comes as divisions have emerged among the five-member commission in recent months over pipeline projects. Democratic Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur in October expressed concerns about the process in a statement dissenting to the commission’s approvals of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and Atlantic Coast Pipeline projects. She has criticized the agency for basing assessments of economic need solely on contracts between developers and customers signed before applications are submitted.

 Courtesy: www.bloomberg.com