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Pennsylvania state Sen. Pat Toomey introduced a bill last week that would create “regulatory certainty” for all U.S. pipeline construction, including the long-delayed Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP).
The Republican senator representing Pennsylvania’s 15th district has introduced a bill to limit regulatory and litigation delays resulting from “outdated laws,” the senator said. Such laws would include the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
“Derailing common sense, essential energy infrastructure projects has resulted in higher energy costs, increased global reliance on energy produced by tyrants like Vladimir Putin, and ironically prevented increased distribution of the energy source most responsible for reducing US greenhouse gas emissions.” “, Toomey said.
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The Energy Security Pipeline Permitting Act would “create regulatory certainty for pipeline construction across the country and shine a light on the long-delayed MVP,” Toomei said.
In the project’s latest setback, MVP LLC, a joint venture of EKM Midstream Partners LP, NextEra Capital Holdings Inc., Con Edison Transmission Inc., VGL Midstream and RGC Midstream LLC, has paused work on the 303-mile pipeline until at least next summer. The JV must await an updated environmental impact statement from the US Forestry Service regarding the approximately 3.5-mile crossing through Virginia’s Jefferson National Forest.
CEO of EKM Midstream’s parent company, Equitrans Midstream Corp., Thomas Karam said, “As an energy security issue, the reform bill would address and ensure our country’s ability to produce and deliver our vast domestic energy resources, including renewables, and enhance our ability to effectively transition to a lower carbon future.”
The bill, which does not yet have any text attached to it, has now been referred to the Environment and Public Works Committee.
“Pennsylvania has world-class natural gas resources, but pipeline constraints prevent us from fully exploiting the value of these resources for local consumers and allies abroad,” said Marcellus Shale Coalition President David Callahan. “The demand for natural gas is high – and we’re seeing producers across the state respond with new well activity, but we have to be able to get the product to consumers, domestically and internationally.” America needs action on policies that will reduce chronic permitting delays, encourage more use of local manufacturing, and build more energy infrastructure.
Manchin misses the mark (again)
Meanwhile, a latest attempt similar to Toomey’s permit reform bill by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, again failed to make it into the broader legislation.
The National Defense Authorization Act of 2023, the final text of which was released Tuesday, did not include Manchin’s proposed reform to shorten the timeline for reviewing the National Environmental Policy Act and minimize judicial challenges to proposed energy projects.
“Our energy infrastructure is under attack and America’s energy security has never been more at risk,” Manchin said of the bill’s exclusion.
“Failure to implement the bipartisan energy licensing reform called for by both Republicans and Democrats will have long-term consequences for our energy independence.” The American people will pay the ultimate price if Washington once again fails to put common sense politics ahead of toxic tribal politics. This is why the American people hate politics in Washington.
Plan B: Invoke the Defense Production Act
In related news, before Toomey proposed the legislation, the Industrial Consumers of America (IECA) submitted comments to the US Department of Energy (DOE) on their request for information on the best use of the Defense Production Act (DPA). IECA is a non-partisan association of manufacturing companies representing 12,000 facilities across the country.
“ICEA encourages DOE to use DPA to build critical pipeline infrastructure along the entire U.S. East Coast,” said Executive Director Paul Ciccio. “The manufacturing sector needs pipeline capacity from Alabama to New York to strengthen national security, boost American manufacturing investment and jobs.”
Cicio noted that “there is no or very limited firm pipeline capacity, and the firm capacity that is available is taken up by entities that can pass on those insufficient prices to consumers.”
Given that the Transcontinental Pipeline (Transco) is the only major pipeline supplying the entire East Coast, and with no new pipeline capacity in the near future, “…the only solution is to use the DPA to intervene at the state level to require utilities to temporarily delay shutting down coal-fired generation,” Cicio said.
According to the executive, 59 coal-fired units within Transco are slated to be decommissioned and replaced with natural gas generation, which could “significantly increase demand by 10 Bcf/d and directly impact generation capacity.”
Cicio also pointed to a March report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration that found that without interstate pipeline construction, the East and North Central, Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic regions are among the most sensitive to changes in pipeline capacity due to limited growth. in Appalachian Basin production.
IECA’s executive director added that peak demand for natural gas in summer and winter, combined with inadequate pipeline capacity, often results in producers being the first to cut demand.
“Last winter, for areas like Transco Zone 5, producers paid over $20/MMBtu for their natural gas,” Cicio said. “Until additional pipeline capacity or compression is added, our only hope to avoid more serious supply shortfalls is to encourage state utility commissions to temporarily delay the shutdown of coal-fired generation.”
“Activists have stopped pipelines that would provide needed supplies such as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.” MVP can provide limited assistance to this area (its primary role is to supply LNG to the Gulf Coast). However, as you know, the MVP was stopped by activists,” added Cicio.
“There is no good alternative fuel to replace natural gas in production processes.
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