PEC Wins in Federal Court Regarding FERC Overreaching on Transmission Lines
For Immediate Release
Bob Lazaro
PEC Director of Communications
571.225.0198
Federal Court Sides With Piedmont Environmental Council Regarding Overreaching by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(February 19, 2009 - Warrenton, VA) The US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond yesterday released its decision in a case brought by the Piedmont Environmental Council, multiple States and parties, regarding rules set by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in implementing the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
"The decision directly upholds a State's right to reject a transmission line project without fear of the federal government stepping in to overrule that State's determination. In plain language, the utilities do not get a second chance if the State rejects a line based upon the merits," said Christopher G. Miller, President of the Piedmont Environmental Council. "The court also ruled that FERC must consult with the Council on Environmental Quality to ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act."
The Court's decision overturns FERC's hard-charging, environment-be-damned approach to fast-tracking transmission line siting throughout the northeast and southwest corridors. The Court's decision is a blow against heavy-handed federal preemption and the ruling restores a semblance of federal-state balance in the overall transmission line-siting process.
The Court decision in part stated: "..we reverse FERC's expansive interpretation of the language in FPA § 216(b)(1)(C)(i) that grants FERC permitting jurisdiction when a state commission has "withheld approval [of a permit application] for more than 1 year." The phrase does not include, as FERC held, the denial of an application."
This lawsuit was the first of two filed by PEC against the previous Administration's attempt to fast-track transmission line siting through much of the U.S. The second, which seeks to overturn the Department of Energy's designation of multi-state corridors for transmission line siting, is pending before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
