Government

摘要

Concern in Congress about insufficient interstate pipeline infrastructure is prompting imminent introduction of a bill to speed up construction applications at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The bill would force federal agencies required to provide input on a pipeline's environmental impact to meet deadlines for submitting comments to FERC. An increasing reliance on natural gas by electric utilities has sparked worries about pipeline bottlenecks, particularly in New England and the Midwest. Those concerns were amply in evidence at hearings in the House Energy & Commerce Committee's subcommittee on energy and power March 19. Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS), a member of the Energy and Power subcommittee, referred to a February 2013 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) which reported that FERC does not track the time it takes for a construction permit to be approved because the agency believes that information has "limited usefulness."