Public Submits More than 25,000 Comments Demanding to Fix FERC

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Yesterday evening, the comment period closed on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) review of their 1999 policy statement pertaining to pipeline reviews. FERC was seeking guidance on how to change those high stakes reviews for the first time in 20 years. Members and supporters of the Sierra Club submitted more than 25,000 comments.

These people are asking FERC to:

• Determine whether or not a pipeline is truly necessary before approving the project. Because companies can make contracts with their own subsidiaries, the presence of contracts for pipeline capacity is not an accurate reflection of pipeline demand. With the demand for energy flattening and abundant clean, affordable, renewable energy alternatives, new pipelines are unnecessary.

• Examine all relevant factors when evaluating pipelines and avoid relying on the word of pipeline companies to determine project demand. FERC should also look at environmental impacts, underutilized existing pipeline capacity, or alternative, cleaner energy resources before locking the country into decades of dependence on more fracked gas.

• Fully evaluate climate pollution and other environmental impacts. FERC’s current approach discounts environmental impacts and doesn’t consider the effects of greenhouse gases produced by using fracked gas for fuel, even though they have the tools to measure these effects and a recent court order required them to do so.

• Ensure the public has a voice. FERC should ensure every affected person is heard by increasing transparency, building public confidence through a Public Participation Office, and incorporating the voices of environmental justice and tribal communities.

In response, Sierra Club Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign Sr. Campaign Representative Joan Walker released the following statement:

"For too long, FERC has been a rubber stamp for the polluting corporations behind fracked gas pipelines instead of a watchdog for the public interest. By submitting more than 25,000 comments, the public is showing they want the Commission to ensure ample opportunities for public input, confirm demand for gas isn’t being inflated, and account for the wide-ranging impacts of pipelines on our climate and communities. While the end of the comment period is an important step toward fixing our broken pipeline review system, our fight for clean air, water, climate, and communities continues.”