Current:Home > FinanceNew York Rejects a Natural Gas Pipeline, and Federal Regulators Say That’s OK-LoTradeCoin
New York Rejects a Natural Gas Pipeline, and Federal Regulators Say That’s OK
View Date:2024-12-24 00:28:35
Stay informed about the latest climate, energy and environmental justice news by email. Sign up for the ICN newsletter.
In a setback for the fossil fuel industry, federal energy regulators rejected a petition from the Constitution Pipeline Company to overturn New York State’s denial of a water permit for a proposed natural gas pipeline. Without the permit, the pipeline can’t be built.
In a decision on Jan. 11, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) denied the request from the company to revive the proposed 125-mile Constitution Pipeline from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania to Upstate New York.
The decision comes during one of the largest expansions of natural gas infrastructure in U.S. history, a buildout that critics say is driven more by the financial interests of gas and electric companies than market demand.
Officials with New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) rejected the water quality permit for the pipeline in April 2016 stating, in part, that it failed to meet the state’s water quality standards. Constitution challenged the decision on the grounds that the state agency did not act within a reasonable time.
The federal commission, in rejecting the company’s challenge, wrote: “The record does not show that New York DEC in any instance failed to act on an application that was before it for more than the outer time limit of one year.”
The company first filed for a water quality permit with New York DEC in August 2013, then withdrew and resubmitted its application in 2014 and again in 2015 at the DEC’s request.
“States and project sponsors that engage in repeated withdrawal and refiling of applications for water quality certifications are acting, in many cases, contrary to the public interest and to the spirit of the Clean Water Act by failing to provide reasonably expeditious state decisions,” the federal commission wrote. “Even so, we do not conclude that the practice violates the letter of the statute.”
In September, FERC overruled New York’s decision to deny a water quality permit for a different natural gas pipeline. In that case, the federal commission—whose makeup has since changed, with two new members appointed by President Donald Trump—ruled that the state, which took nearly two years to make a decision, had not acted in a reasonable amount of time.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo praised FERC’s latest decision.
“No corporation should be allowed to endanger our natural resources, and the Constitution Pipeline represented a threat to our water quality and our environment,” Cuomo said in a statement. “I commend the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for ruling in favor of New York’s efforts to prevent this project from moving forward.”
Williams Companies, one of the companies behind the pipeline project, said it will appeal FERC’s decision.
“We are planning to seek rehearing and, if necessary, appeal of this decision in order to continue to develop this much-needed infrastructure project,” Chris Stockton, a spokesman for the company said in a statement. The companies behind the Constitution Pipeline had also sued over the water permit, but a federal appeals court panel sided with the state in August.
veryGood! (8)
Related
- California teen pleads guilty in Florida to making hundreds of ‘swatting’ calls across the US
- Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2024 are this weekend: Date, time, categories, where to watch
- What to watch: Let's rage with Nic Cage
- Alec Baldwin’s Rust Involuntary Manslaughter Trial Takes a Sudden Twist
- Kevin Costner says he hasn't watched John Dutton's fate on 'Yellowstone': 'Swear to God'
- Euphoria Season 3 Finally Has a Start Date
- NBA Summer League highlights: How Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, Reed Sheppard did
- Pregnant Lea Michele Reunites With Scream Queens Costar Emma Roberts in Hamptons Pic
- Mississippi expects only a small growth in state budget
- US Forest Service pilot hikes to safety after helicopter crash near central Idaho wildfire
Ranking
- Inter Miami's MLS playoff failure sets stage for Messi's last act, Alexi Lalas says
- Heavy rains leave at least 200 crocodiles crawling around cities in Mexico near Texas, increasing risk for the population
- Eddie Murphy and Paige Butcher Get Married in Caribbean Wedding
- Madewell's Big End of Season Sale Is Here, Save up to 70% & Score Styles as Low as $11
- Watch as massive amount of crabs scamper across Australian island: 'It's quite weird'
- Arizona abortion initiative backers sue to remove ‘unborn human being’ from voter pamphlet language
- Map shows all the stores slated to be sold in Kroger-Albertsons merger
- First victim of Tulsa Race Massacre identified through DNA as WWI veteran
Recommendation
-
Judge sets April trial date for Sarah Palin’s libel claim against The New York Times
-
Archaeologists unearth 4,000-year-old temple and theater in Peru
-
Inside Billionaire Heir Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's Wedding of the Year in India
-
4-year-old girl reported missing in Massachusetts found unresponsive in neighbor's pool
-
Burt Bacharach, composer of classic songs, will have papers donated to Library of Congress
-
Potentially dozens of Democrats expected to call on Biden to step aside after NATO conference
-
Monte Kiffin, longtime DC who helped revolutionize defensive football, dies at 84
-
FBI searching for 14-year-old Utah girl who vanished in Mexico