Energy and Environment Monitor
Delaware Riverkeeper Sues FERC Claiming Reliance on Regulatory Fees Creates Impermissible Temptation to Bias
March 8, 2016
The Delaware Riverkeeper Network has sued FERC in federal court in Washington, D.C., claiming that FERC’s reliance on regulatory fees from the gas industry creates a “structural bias” that denies the Riverkeeper’s due process rights. The Complaint cites as an example of the bias the fact that FERC has approved 100 percent of the pipeline projects it has reviewed and has never fined a certificate holder for a violation of environmental conditions of a certificate.
The animus for the lawsuit is the plaintiffs’ opposition to the PennEast natural gas transmission pipeline in the Delaware River watershed. The Complaint follows on the heels of a letter dated January 14, 2016 by the plaintiffs and others to Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren complaining that FERC is biased in favor of certificate applicants.
This article was authored by Robert G. McLusky, Jackson Kelly, PLLC.