Sierra Club’s Ben Jealous to Participate in FERC Environmental Justice Roundtable

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is hosting an environmental justice and equity roundtable. In a series of panels, FERC Commissioners will explore ways to better uphold these important values in their decisions, which include pipeline permitting, interstate transmission line siting, and liquefied methane gas export facility approvals. The impact of these decisions have historically had an outsized impact on low-income communities and communities of color who bear the burden of pollution and often experience the worst impacts of climate change. 

Sierra Club’s Executive Director Ben Jealous will participate in the first panel. The roundtable is available to livestream. 

Ahead of the roundtable, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous released the following statement:

“I am encouraged that FERC is taking the opportunity to have an open and productive dialogue that can and must lead to meaningful action on better incorporating environmental justice and equity into their decision making framework. This work cannot end with just a roundtable. FERC must be willing to deny permits for projects that have significant environmental justice impacts. Communities directly affected by FERC’s permitting decisions must be included in the process as early as possible. 

“FERC Commissioners have the power to make decisions – whether for individual permits or broader policies – that meaningfully and equitably take into account the impact of gas operations on overburdened communities.”