Congresswoman Watson Coleman to Introduce Legislation Strengthening FERC Oversight of Proposed Pipelines

ReThink Energy NJ and partners announced that Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ D-12) will introduce legislation to toughen Federal Energy Regulatory Commission oversight by requiring it to apply more comprehensive procedures to its review of proposed pipeline applications before granting a certificate of public convenience and necessity.

Watson Coleman made the announcement during a press conference at Baldpate Mountain in Titusville, New Jersey, which is along the route of the proposed PennEast pipeline project. Every New Jersey town along PennEast’s route has formally opposed the PennEast pipeline, as have a bipartisan coalition of federal and state legislators, citizen groups, and conservation leaders, some of whom were in attendance during today’s event.

The legislation that Watson Coleman will propose aims to strengthen oversight of proposed pipelines like PennEast by requiring FERC to conduct either a full evidentiary hearing or a cumulative review of major energy infrastructure projects that are planned throughout a region to determine if there is need for a project.