Recent Projects

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have expressed the intention to repeal the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which removed critical federal protections on many waterways and has been vacated by a federal court for violating the Clean Water Act. In comments filed to the agencies, we welcome the decision to replace the rule but encourage strong justification for reversing course and point to flaws in the economic analysis for the earlier rule that can support the case for replacing it.

We previously commented on the rule and its flawed economic justification, published a report on its concealed costs, and filed amicus briefs in court cases that challenged it.

The North Baja XPress Project would provide a significant increase in natural gas compression and transportation, potentially resulting in 9.5 million metric tons or more in downstream greenhouse gas emissions. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, however, failed to estimate the project’s total emissions and climate damages. In October 2020, we submitted comments recommending that FERC consider the full range of upstream and downstream emissions and contextualize their impacts using the social cost of carbon.

In our August 2021 follow up letter responding to FERC's draft environmental impact statement for the project, we note that the Commission has taken the helpful steps of quantifying direct and downstream emissions, but should still quantify upstream emissions, assess the project's incremental environmental harms, and consider avenues to mitigate emissions.

The East 300 Upgrade Project could result in the emission of over 2.3 million tons of downstream emissions in carbon-dioxide equivalence per year from the combusion of natural gas. In March, we submitted comments encouraging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to provide a more complete analysis of project emissions and weigh its climate impacts using the social cost of carbon. In August, we followed up with a comment letter regarding the Commission's continued failures to meaningfully assess climate impacts in the project's Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

We submitted comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) encouraging the agency to accept PJM’s proposed changes to the Minimum Offer Price Rule, which recognizes that generation-based externality payment for clean electricity resources can be welfare-enhancing, and removes the artificial barrier to market entry for resources that receive payments under state climate policies created by the previous rule.

The East Lateral XPress Project could result in the emission of over 3.6 million tons of downstream emissions in carbon-dioxide equivalence per year from the combustion of natural gas. We submitted comments (April 2021) and a follow-up letter (August 2021) encouraging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to provide a more complete analysis of project emissions, weigh its climate impacts using the social cost of carbon, and consider mitigation measures.

In June 2021, the Department of the Interior’s Office of Natural Resource Revenue's (ONRR) proposed a rule rescinding a Trump-era repeal of the Valuation Rule. This rule sought to ensure that states and the federal government receive the full value of royalties due under the law for oil, gas, and coal extracted from public land. We submitted comments supporting ONRR’s proposal to fully rescind the 2020 Rule and encourage ONRR to further elaborate upon its reasons for fully withdrawing the 2020 Rule, in contrast to other alternatives. We lay out several key provisions in the 2020 Rule where ONRR can expand upon its justification for rescinding.

This comment letter follows a long line of advocacy that we've made opposing the Trump-era rule and supporting the valuation processes that it rescinded.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has granted the Marcus Hook Compression Project Limited Notice to Proceed with the first phase of construction activities, which is currently underway. Our recent comments on FERC's draft environmental impact statement for the project recommend that the agency improve its consideration of climate impacts. It can do so by quantifying upstream emissions, assessing the project’s incremental climate harms, and considering avenues to mitigate its greenhouse gas contributions.