On Wednesday, the House considered the Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act (H.R. 161). I voted “no” on H.R. 161 because it would undermine environmental and public health protections and make it more difficult for local communities to challenge drilling, pipeline, and other projects they believe to be detrimental. H.R. 1900 would change the current permit procedure used by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for natural gas pipelines. It would place a 12-month deadline for accepting or rejecting applications, even though over 90% of applications are already decided within 12 months. This would force premature decisions on the particularly complex projects that require more than 12 months to come to a decision. At a time when domestic energy production is at a 20 year high and imports of oil are at a historic low, I believe we do not need to weaken environmental safeguards that endanger public lands and the health of our communities. As the 114th Congress debates energy policies, know that I will keep your comments in mind.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 13:39:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015