E&C DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE LEADERS URGE FERC TO INCORPORATE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PRINCIPLES INTO ITS DECISION-MAKING

Press Release

"We are encouraged by FERC's recent steps to recognize environmental justice issues, but respectfully note that given the history and legacy of environmental injustice in the United States, much more must be done. FERC must take concrete steps to incorporate environmental justice principles into its decision-making, especially its authorizations of natural gas pipelines and liquified natural gas (LNG) export facilities."

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"If the cumulative sum of those considerations and other factors lead Commissioners to determine that a project is not required by public convenience and necessity, then FERC must not grant that project a certificate.

Even if FERC grants a certificate, the NGA provides the Commission substantial powers to condition certificates when it grants them to applicants. If the Commission determines that public convenience and necessity demands that a facility be approved, the Commission has the authority to properly condition the certificate in order to ensure that the health and environmental impacts of any facility are mitigated to the greatest extent possible."

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"As numerous participants at the roundtable made very clear, over the last two years the OPP has brought forth a dramatic shift in how FERC interacts with environmental justice communities. We urge FERC to encourage OPP to build upon its work by making the Commission more accessible to communities across the nation, and to utilize the office as much as possible to engage communities impacted by projects subject to FERC authorization."

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