GTN Xpress, another Canadian pipeline.
Canadian energy company TC Energy, the same company behind the Keystone XL, is moving forward with plans to expand a methane gas pipeline project going through Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved GTN Xpress this week. I have assembled the information and actions I can find in this newsletter.
The company has argued that more gas is needed to meet demand in the Pacific Northwest. However, many view it as a huge setback to regional climate efforts and, as DeSmog previously reported, the assertion that demand will grow in the coming decades belies the relatively stringent climate regulations on the books in multiple states in the region, which require gas utilities to slash greenhouse gas emissions. In Oregon, for instance, gas utilities must cut their emissions in half by 2035 and by 90 percent by 2050, from a 2017-2019 baseline.
Public officials across the Pacific Northwest submitted letters opposing the project to FERC over the past year. Officials who sent letters of opposition include Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) and Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D); Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Alex Padilla (D-CA); the Attorney Generals of Washington, Oregon, and California; as well as several members of the House of Representatives. The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, which represents several regional tribes, also opposes the pipeline proposal.
On October 18, a day before FERC’s announcement, Murray, Merkley, Wyden, and Cantwell sent a joint letter to FERC commissioners.
“Put simply, there is no way that our states can meet their emissions goals if this project moves forward,” the senators wrote.
Rep. Andrea Salinas (OR-6) sent her own letter as well.
“[GTN Xpress] is antithetical to Oregon’s ongoing efforts to transition away from fossil fuels and to combat climate change,” Salinas wrote.
The decision is the latest in a series of federal approvals for oil, gas pipeline, and LNG export projects, which have angered activists around the country.
“With this decision to approve the GTN Xpress expansion, the Biden administration is again failing on its promises to protect environmental justice communities and the climate. Any expansion of fossil fuels is incompatible with a livable future,” said Oil Change International’s U.S. Program Co-Manager Allie Rosenbluth.
Northwest climate groups had held out some hope that the vocal opposition to the project from elected officials and a wide variety of community organizations would have swayed FERC. In addition, the fact that there was no demonstrated need for more gas should have worked against the project’s prospects, opponents believed.
But FERC was unmoved and greenlighted the project on October 19. Climate groups blasted the decision.
“FERC failed to listen to Senators, Governors, State Attorneys General, Tribes, and the public in its rubber stamp of unnecessary fracked gas in the Northwest,” said Audrey Leonard, Staff Attorney of Columbia Riverkeeper.
Opponents noted that TC Energy has presided over safety mishaps and explosions at other pipelines around the country. Most recently, the company’s gas pipeline in Virginia exploded in July of this year.
FERC has a well-known track record of granting favorable decisions to the gas industry, having approved 425 gas projects between 2000 and 2021. It only rejected two projects in that 20-year period.
Here is a petition to get you started to show you oppose the unnecessary expansion of the pipeline:
Tweet to share:
The group who organized the petition:
A Twitter thread that has excellent info, please share and support it:
I will be watching for all calls to action and will amplify everything I can. We need to amplify all content we see about this. I will have a tiktok video up soon with the call to sign the petition.