U.S. House energy subcommittee drills into drafts on updating pipeline, hydro infrastructure
Several industry stakeholders think expanding the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) authority is a good idea toward accelerating permitting for pipeline and hydropower infrastructure modernization projects. But members of Congress learned Wednesday that the proposed strategy concerns environmental groups and even some FERC staff.
“I am concerned only to the extent that additional bureaucracy would be added to the process,” John Katz, deputy associate general counsel in FERC’s Office of the General Counsel, testified May 3 before the House Energy Subcommittee.
“The commission wants to pare back the process as best we can,” Katz said during the hearing.
Permitting gas pipeline and hydropower infrastructure most often requires extensive consultation with more than a dozen federal and state agencies, with FERC coordinating the reviews. It can be a grueling process for a project applicant that might take years and cost big bucks—with an approval not guaranteed.
The subcommittee currently is considering 10 proposed bills — six in discussion draft form — that would take steps toward updating the nation’s pipeline and hydropower infrastructure. At the same time, the subcommittee must balance those needs with safety, environmental and consumer protections.
The 10 proposals are related to hydropower, natural gas, cross-border energy infrastructure and the extension of construction deadlines for several hydroelectric projects. On Wednesday subcommittee members examined several issues in the legislation, including some provisions of each bill.
One bill in particular created some kick back.
FERC in the lead?
The Promoting Interagency Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines Act would amend the Natural Gas Act (NGA) to reinforce FERC’s role as the lead agency for siting interstate natural gas pipelines. FERC would identify the federal or state agency, local government or Indian tribe that would consider specific aspects of project applications and each would be required to cooperate with the commission. FERC also would establish a schedule for concurrent reviews and impose deadlines for final federal authorization decisions, according to the draft’s text.
“Some of the proposed NGA modifications would alter FERC’s role from one of collaboration with its fellow agencies to an oversight role, monitoring other agency execution of their congressionally mandated duties,” testified Terry Turpin, director of FERC’s Office of Energy Projects, which has the lead role in siting infrastructure projects.
“I’m concerned that this will require the use of commission resources that could be better spent analyzing the proposed projects and could lead to unproductive tension between the agencies involved in the review process,” Turpin told the committee.
In addition, FERC is looking at a ballooning licensing workload. Currently, staff has a full workload processing original licenses, relicenses and exemption applications, as well as compliance and dam safety work, said Katz. But between fiscal year (FY) 2017 and FY 2030, about 480 older projects will begin the relicensing process. These projects represent about 45 percent of FERC’s licensed projects and one-third of licensed capacity under FERC’s jurisdiction right now, Katz said.
“Staff is concerned that adding additional complexity and required procedures to the commission’s review could hinder the timely processing of this large workload,” he said.
The draft bill also would set a deadline for a federal authorization to occur “not later than 90 days after the Commission issues its final environmental document.” Asked by one of the congressmen if it would be beneficial to have FERC enforce such deadlines, Katz said that doing so would be difficult.
“We would like to be able to say there’s a deadline, but states have sovereignty and they could deny a project or load up on the paperwork and delay a project. It’s a real chicken-and-egg problem,” said Katz.
Jennifer Danis, senior staff attorney at the Eastern Environmental Law Center, and William Robert Irvin, president and CEO of American Rivers, don’t want to see FERC’s authority expanded by this bill.
Danis said doing so “would generate, not resolve conflicts,” while Irvin thinks FERC should not be elevated above other federal agencies to decide questions outside its expertise.
Ask the president
The elephant in the room didn’t go unnoticed and subcommittee ranking member U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) was the first one to bring it up during opening statements when he told his colleagues, “We should be reaching out to the Trump administration for nominations to FERC,” which has three out of five empty seats.
“A critical element” to speeding up the pipeline approval process “will be restoring the quorum at FERC,” said Donald Santa, president and CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America.
“FERC has lacked a quorum for three months and to make matters worse, there’s only going to be one commissioner left in a few months,” said U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), referring to retiring commissioner Colette Honorable, who leaves at the end of June.
To get the process going, Pallone said, “perhaps they should pick up the phone and ask the president” for nominations.
In addition to discussing provisions in the discussion draft of the Promoting Interagency Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines Act, energy subcommittee chairman U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) and vice chairman U.S. Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX) also led the subcommittee’s review today of:
– Promoting Hydropower Development at Existing Non-Powered Dams Act
– Promoting Closed-Loop Pumped Storage Hydropower Act
– Promoting Small Conduit Hydropower Facilities Act of 2017
– Promoting Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure Act
– Supporting Home Owner Rights Enforcement Act (H.R. 1538)
– To extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project (H.R. 446)
– To extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project (H.R. 447)
– To reinstate and extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project (H.R. 2122)
– Hydropower Policy Modernization Act of 2017
The subcommittee held a related hearing in February. No actions were taken following Wednesday’s hearing.
