July 19, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) Managing Director Heather Reams released the following statements regarding H.R. 2883, the Promoting Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure Act and H.R. 2910, the Promoting Interagency Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines Act.
H.R. 2883
“Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions supports the Promoting Cross-Border Energy Infrastructure Act as good policy that would bring much-needed simplification to the permitting process for oil and natural gas pipelines and electric transmission facilities across our borders with Canada and Mexico,” Reams said.
“It is important that the process for approving these types projects be set forth by Congress, instead of by Presidential Executive Order which can lead to similar situations such as Keystone XL where progress is delayed by over-politicization. This approach of this reform legislation allows the permitting decision to be made by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Secretary of Energy. As long as the environmental reviews conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act are rigorous, this legislative fix will streamline permitting for joint ventures with America’s neighbors at no additional up-front cost to the American taxpayer,” Reams concluded.
H.R. 2910
“The Promoting Interagency Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines Act sets a clear and timely approach to expedite reviews of natural gas pipelines by elevating the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s role and establishing process for agencies together, instead of in separate silos,” Reams said.
“From a process standpoint, a key goal of the legislation is to involve state- and community-level stakeholders sooner so that they can be involved in the setting of the schedule and identify issues of concern earlier. This is good news. From a technical standpoint, the bill will help bring environmental impact assessment into a new era by prioritizing ground-validated aerial survey data. This type of high quality data provided earlier in the stakeholder consultation process will result in better projects,” Reams concluded.
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Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization founded in 2013 to engage Republican policymakers and the public about commonsense, conservative solutions to address our nation’s need for abundant, reliable energy while preserving our environment.