The Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report criticizing PHMSA’s implementation of Congressional mandates and recommendations from the NTSB, GAO and the OIG itself.
Continue Reading
Policy
Underground Gas Storage Recommendations Likely to Inform Upcoming Rules
Posted on
The Interagency Task force on Natural Gas Storage Safety formed last April in response to the massive prolonged Aliso Canyon gas leak, recently issued its report on the safety and reliability of underground natural gas storage. …
Continue Reading
Deadlines Triggered by Publication of PHMSA Safety Rules/Notices
Posted on
PHMSA recently issued pre-publication copies of several rules and notices, which have now been formally published in the Federal Register, triggering various deadlines.…
Continue Reading
Activists Attempt to Shut Down Five Major Oil Pipelines
Posted on
A group referring to itself as “Climate Direct Action” claimed to have shut down five major cross-border oil pipelines in various states on Tuesday October 11, 2016: Minnesota (Enbridge Lines 4 and 67 near Leonard), Montana (Spectra Energy’s Express Pipeline near Coal Banks Landing), North Dakota (TransCanada’s Keystone Pipeline near Walhalla) and Washington State (Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Pipeline near Anacortes).…
Continue Reading
Pipelines Subject to Higher Penalties under New PHMSA Civil Penalty Policy
Posted on
On October 11, 2016, PHMSA released a Policy Statement notifying owners and operators of oil and gas pipelines that it is finally making its civil penalty framework publicly accessible, and that respondents may now request proposed civil penalty calculations in enforcement actions.…
Continue Reading
Critical Energy Infrastructure Remains Just That: Critical
Posted on
The recent shut-down of Colonial Pipeline Company’s Line 1 in Alabama should remind the public and the government just how critical oil and gas pipelines are to America’s energy supply needs. …
Continue Reading
Standing Rock Dispute Presents Issues Unique to Indian Country
Posted on
Since the Administration denied a Presidential (border crossing) Permit to the Keystone XL Project in 2015, a number of regional, state or local objections to new pipeline construction projects have emerged around the U.S. Most of the protests have continued themes relied on by opposition to Keystone, including the claim that fossil fuels should remain in the ground in order to limit the impacts of climate change.…
Continue Reading
Federal Appellate Review of State Agency Decisions for Interstate Natural Gas Projects Confirmed
Posted on
The Third Circuit held in a highly anticipated recent decision that state actions on water quality-related permits for interstate natural gas pipeline projects are reviewable only in the federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, in accordance with the Natural Gas Act (NGA). …
Continue Reading
Constitution Pipeline Cases Reflect Tension in States’ Roles in Permitting Natural Gas Projects
Posted on
Recent developments in cases brought by Constitution Pipeline Company to challenge New York’s denial of certain water quality authorizations highlight tensions between federal and state oversight of interstate natural gas pipeline construction projects, and the accompanying potential for costly and protracted delays. …
Continue Reading
House Bill Reflects Ongoing Resistance to New Pipeline Construction
Posted on
Recently proposed legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives would require FERC to revise its review process for proposed natural gas pipeline expansion projects to include additional analysis of cumulative impacts in a single region or State and extended environmental monitoring. While this bill is unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-controlled House, it is indicative of an ongoing debate about the need for and environmental impacts of new pipeline construction, and the role of both federal and state regulators in reviewing and approving such projects—a debate that has attracted national attention in the wake of the Obama administration’s rejection of the Keystone XL project in late 2015.
…
Continue Reading