Earthjustice Action Statement on the FERC Greenhouse Gas and Environmental Justice Policy Act

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Reps. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) and Jennifer McClellan (D-Va) introduced the FERC Greenhouse Gas and Environmental Justice Policy Act. The bill would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to analyze and mitigate the impacts of methane gas pipeline approvals on climate change and environmental justice communities. Methane gas leaks from pipelines pose well-documented risks to human health, ecosystems, and drinking water supplies, and pipelines are often sited in communities of color and those of low income. 

After the bill’s introduction, Earthjustice Action Legislative Representative Auburn Bell issued the following statement: 

“Congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration have demonstrated their commitment to expediting and rubber-stamping the permitting of dirty gas infrastructure with little regard for its impacts. Failure to consider these impacts will only result in dirtier water, toxic air, and more chronic health issues for those living alongside them. The FERC Greenhouse Gas and Environmental Justice Policy Act is a crucial step toward ensuring communities are at the center of FERC’s approval process and rightfully mandates FERC assesses the cumulative impacts of gas pipeline pollution on environmental justice communities and climate change. We thank Representatives Casten, McClellan, and others for their efforts to protect people, especially those disproportionately impacted by greenhouse gas pollutants.”