Regulatory

FERC Commissioner Tony Clark said Thursday he will not seek reappointment when his current term ends June 30.

FERC commissioners voted Thursday to initiate Natural Gas Act Section 5 investigations of the rates charged by four interstate natural gas pipelines to determine if they are “substantially over-recovering their costs, resulting in unjust and unreasonable rates.”

President Obama vetoed a Congressional resolution disapproving of his administration’s plan to rewrite the controversial Clean Water Rule (CWR) on Tuesday.

Natural gas used in transportation is facing an uphill battle competing for funds in California’s $100 million annual alternative/renewable vehicle grant program, according to a revised staff report at the California Energy Commission (CEC), which administers the six-year-old program.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) hinted during a hearing this week that the comprehensive energy bill passed last summer through the Committee on Energy & Natural Resources could soon reach the Senate floor for a vote.

Arkansas regulators have approved Black Hills Corp.’s acquisition of SourceGas Holding LLC’s natural gas utility in South Dakota as part of $1.89 billion, four-state deal announced last summer.

Two environmental groups are petitioning the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strip Texas regulators of some oversight responsibilities that were delegated under the U.S. Clean Air and Clean Water acts.

A coalition of 165 environmental groups, led by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, have asked Sens. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to launch an investigation into FERC, alleging that the commission is biased toward pipeline companies.

New safety regulations for hazardous liquid pipelines proposed by the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) would cost more than regulators’ estimate, according to comments filed late last week by the Gas Processors Association (GPA).