Feds OK Natural Gas Pipeline Expansion in Pacific Northwest | Nov 2023

November 2023 | Volume 15, Issue 4

Read the full article on ABCNews.com

According to the article, federal regulators recently approved the expansion of a natural gas pipeline in the Pacific Northwest over the protest of environmental groups and top officials in West Coast states, who said it goes against the region’s plans to address climate change and could pose a wildfire risk.

GTN Xpress

The project, known as GTN Xpress, aims to expand the capacity of the Gas Transmission Northwest pipeline, which runs through Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, by about 150 million cubic feet (4.2 million cubic meters) of natural gas per day. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave it the green light in a recent vote.

TC Energy plans to modify three compressor stations along the pipeline — in Kootenai County, Idaho; Walla Walla County, Washington; and Sherman County, Oregon. Compressor stations help maintain the pressure and flow of gas over long distances in a pipeline.

Environmental Response

Environmental groups criticized the decision.

In a statement, Audrey Leonard, staff attorney for environmental nonprofit Columbia Riverkeeper, said it represented a “rubber stamp of unnecessary fracked gas in the Northwest” and accused the energy agency of failing to listen to U.S. senators, governors, state attorneys general, tribes, and members of the public.

Leonard said potential spills and explosions on the pipeline, which was built in the 1960s, would not only harm the environment but also present a heightened wildfire risk in the arid regions it passes through.

“An explosion of that level in eastern Washington or eastern Oregon would be catastrophic,” she said.

Leonard said Columbia Riverkeeper will appeal the federal regulators’ decision and submit a petition for a rehearing.

The pipeline belongs to TC Energy of Calgary, Canada — the same company behind the now-abandoned Keystone XL crude oil pipeline.

The company said the project is necessary to meet consumer demand and welcomed the decision in an emailed statement.

Safety Concerns

Environmentalists and officials opposed to the project have expressed concern about TC Energy’s safety record. Its Columbia Gas Transmission pipeline exploded in Strasburg, Virginia, in July and its existing Keystone pipeline spilled nearly 600,000 gallons of bitumen oil in Kansas last December.

The 1,377-mile (2,216-kilometer) pipeline runs from the Canadian border through a corner of Idaho and into Washington state and Oregon, connecting with a pipeline going into California.

Response of Western States

Oregon, along with Washington and California, have passed laws requiring utilities to transition to 100 percent clean electricity sources by 2040 and 2045, respectively.

While Idaho’s Republican governor and Congress members have supported the project and said that imposing other states’ climate policies would be “misguided,” Democratic officials in the other states called on federal officials to reject the plan.

After the vote, Washington's Democratic governor and California's Democratic attorney general condemned the decision. The Democratic U.S. Senators from Washington and Oregon described the project as “incompatible with our climate laws” in a letter to the energy agency.

“GTN Xpress represents a significant expansion of methane gas infrastructure at a time when California, Oregon, and Washington are moving away from fossil fuels,” the senators said.

The attorneys general of the three states, citing the energy agency's draft environmental impact statement for the project, said it would result in more than 3.47 million metric tons of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions per year for at least the next three decades.

The agency’s final environmental assessment revised that number downward by roughly half in calculations contested by environmental groups. This is partly because some of the project's gas would be delivered to Tourmaline, a Canadian natural gas producer. The assessment said it wasn't clear what the end use of the gas delivered to Tourmaline would be, leading it to conclude that the company's downstream emissions — those stemming from consumers — were not “reasonably foreseeable.”

The energy agency’s chairman, Willie Phillips, reiterated its stance after the vote.

“There was no evidence presented that this project would significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions,” he told reporters. “The commission determined that this project was needed and therefore we support its approval.”

Environmental Impact Statement

In its final environmental impact statement for the project issued last November, the federal agency said the compressor stations were in non-forested areas with low to moderate fire hazards. It concluded the project “would result in limited adverse impacts on the environment.”

“Most adverse environmental impacts would be temporary or short-term,” the federal agency said.

The agency recommended certain steps, such as requiring the company to train its personnel and contractors on environmental mitigation measures before any construction begins.

However environmental groups say the assessment did not adequately address the harm caused by the project, including by fracking to obtain the natural gas that flows through the pipeline.

Fracking is a technique used by the energy industry to extract oil and gas from rock by injecting high-pressure mixtures of water, sand, gravel, and chemicals. It has been criticized by climate and environment groups for increasing emissions of methane, an extraordinarily potent greenhouse gas.

Discussion Questions

1. Describe the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
   The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, is an independent agency that regulates the interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas, and oil. FERC also reviews proposals to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and interstate natural gas pipelines as well as licensing hydropower projects. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 gave FERC additional responsibilities including:
   Regulating the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity in interstate commerce;
   Reviewing certain mergers and acquisitions and corporate transactions by electricity companies;
   Regulating the transmission and sale of natural gas for resale in interstate commerce;
   Regulating the transportation of oil by pipelines in interstate commerce;
   Approving the siting and abandonment of interstate natural gas pipelines and storage facilities;
   Reviewing the siting application for electric transmission projects under limited circumstances;
   Assessing the safe operation and reliability of proposed and operating LNG terminals;
   Licensing and inspecting private, municipal, and state hydroelectric projects;
   Protecting the reliability of the high voltage interstate transmission system through mandatory reliability standards;
   Monitoring and investigating energy markets;
   Enforcing FERC regulatory requirements through the imposition of civil penalties and other means;
   Overseeing environmental matters related to natural gas and hydroelectricity projects and other matters; and
   Administering accounting and financial reporting regulations and conduct of regulated companies.
2. Explain what an environmental impact statement is
   An environmental impact statement (EIS) is a government document that outlines the impact of a proposed project on its surrounding environment. In the United States, these statements are mandated by federal law for certain projects. Environmental impact statements are meant to inform the work and decisions of policymakers and community leaders.
3. To what extent, if any, is TC Energy’s safety record relevant to this case? To what extent, if any, is the fact that Oregon, along with Washington and California, have passed laws requiring utilities to transition to 100 percent clean electricity sources relevant to this case?
   These are opinion questions, and student responses may vary.
   
   In your author’s opinion, TC Energy’s safety record is relevant to this case since it relates to environmental risk exposure. As indicated in the article, TC Energy’s Columbia Gas Transmission pipeline exploded in Strasburg, Virginia in July 2023, and its existing Keystone pipeline spilled nearly 600,000 gallons of bitumen oil in Kansas in December 2022. Additionally, in your author’s opinion, the fact that Oregon, Washington, and California have passed laws requiring utilities to transition to 100 percent clean electricity sources is relevant to this case.
   
   Not only are these three states most directly affected by the federal government’s decision to approve natural gas pipeline expansion in the Pacific Northwest (which includes Washington, Oregon, parts of northern California, and western Idaho), but such an expansion would also seem to run directly contrary to their policy and law to transition to 100 percent clean electricity.