Bipartisan

After tweaking a controversial section on emergency orders, the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee unanimously approved a pipeline safety bill to reauthorize the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act for five years, beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2017.

After tweaking a controversial section on emergency orders, the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee unanimously approved a pipeline safety bill to reauthorize the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act for five years, beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2017.

A bipartisan group of governors from 17 states on Tuesday announced the formation of a clean energy accord that they see as a multi-state economic development tool.

The House Natural Resources Committee Wednesday voted out a bipartisan bill that would prohibit the Department of Interior from enforcing federal hydraulic fracturing (fracking) regulations.

A bipartisan coalition of 34 senators has called on the Department of Energy (DOE) to speed up its processing of permit requests to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to foreign countries with which the United States does not have have a free trade agreement (non-FTA). At the current rate, the senators estimated that it could take the department up to two years to approve all of the non-FTA permits pending at DOE.

A bill that would increase regulations on natural gas and oil drillers in Illinois is awaiting Gov. Pat Quinn’s signature after state lawmakers passed the bipartisan legislation.

A measure was reintroduced last week in the House with bipartisan support to allow ethanol produced from U.S. natural gas to be included under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Whether the bill finds traction, which one failed to do last year (HR 3773), remains open to question.

Bipartisan legislation (HR 1900) introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) seeks to bring more certainty to the interstate natural gas pipeline permitting process, giving federal agencies up to 90 days after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issues a certificate (one-time 30-day extension for unforeseen circumstances) to complete their work. The time line would apply to any federal agency charged with issuing a permit for an interstate gas project, including the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (right-of-way grant) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Endangered Species Act; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Clean Water Act); and the Environmental Protection Agency (emissions permit). Pipeline projects require as many as 10 permits. The time limit would codify existing regulations following the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), which were intended to expedite projects. A study this year by the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America found that the percentage of federal authorizations for interstate pipes that were issued more than 90 days beyond FERC’s issuing environmental impact statements (EIS) or environmental assessments (EA) rose from 7.69% before EPAct became law to 28.05% after implementation (see NGI, Jan. 21). Federal authorizations granted 180 days or longer after FERC issued an EIS or EA rose from 3.42% to 19.51%. Cosponsors of the legislation are Reps. Jim Matheson (D-UT), Pete Olson (R-TX), Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Bill Johnson (R-OH).

Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the ranking Republican on the committee, vowed Tuesday to work together in a bipartisan effort to rethink energy regulation — but their differences on the issued appear unresolved.