2 NY Dem Lawmakers Push Bill to Ban New Fossil Fuel Facilities
Two Democrat New York State legislators, Senator Jen Metzger and Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, are floating parallel bills that would outright ban any new natural gas-fired electric plants or natural gas pipelines in the state. Really bizarre stuff. They’re calling this lunacy “Freedom from Fossil Fuels.” Want to run a new gas pipeline from the local utility to a new housing development or commercial business park? Forget it. No new gas customer hookups *anywhere* in the state–not just in Westchester County (see Moratorium on New Gas Hookups in Westchester County Begins Today). Such would be result of this truly insane plan.
Read More “2 NY Dem Lawmakers Push Bill to Ban New Fossil Fuel Facilities”
On multiple occasions we have outlined the reasons why federal agencies like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) exist–in order to prevent individual states from harming their neighbors economically. An individual state can’t block a new interstate highway, or the trucks and cars that travel it, from entering their state. It’s the same for power transmission lines and for pipelines. Yet New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is violating that law by rejecting interstate pipelines.
Last Friday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a final approval for Williams’ Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline project by a vote of 3-1 (full copy below). The only remaining regulatory hurdles are for both New York State and New Jersey to issue federal Clean Water Act 401 certificates to allow the project to cross bodies of water in their respective territorial waters. All eyes are now on NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo and what he will do. Will he approve the project, benefiting New York City and Long Island with much-needed gas? Or will he veto the project, harming millions of NY residents, simply to placate a small group of very vocal radical leftists who pretend to care about the environment? He has until May 16 to decide.
Andrew Cuomo has himself painted into a corner. In recent years he’s pandered to his radical/left environmental base by blocking natural gas pipelines. Another such project now must be decided, by May 16. Williams’ Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project needs a water crossing permit from New York State. If Cuomo rejects the project, both Consolidated Edison and National Grid, the two utilities that supply New York City and its suburbs, including all of Long Island, with natural gas, have said they will slap a moratorium on all new gas customer hookups. Either way Andy is toast. Which way will he decide?
Andrew Cuomo, the man-child who governs New York State like it’s a third world, tinpot dictatorship (it’s rapidly becoming as poor as a third world country), says NY is going to sue President Trump over his recently signed Executive Order that will make it harder for states like NY to reject pipelines for purely political reasons (see 
We continue to be disturbed by the double standard and (we maintain) lawless behavior of the Attorneys General in both New York State and Massachusetts. Both AGs have colluded with Big Green groups in a scheme to shake down ExxonMobil, and both are doing their best to cover up their collusion. We told you in 2016 of the AGs’ refusal to comply with subpoena issued by Congress for copies of their communication records (see 
Last Thursday, “more than 300” anti-fossil fuel nutters protested to “demand” that Gov. Cuomo block Williams’ proposed Northeast Supply Expansion (NESE) pipeline project. We have extensively covered NESE and the coming decision by Cuomo’s lapdogs at the Dept. of Environmental Conservation.
During the signing ceremony on Wednesday when President Trump signed two executive orders to make it harder for states to block new pipelines for political reasons, Trump revealed part of the motivation for the EOs when he said, “And also, in New York, they’re paying tremendous amounts of money more for energy to heat their homes because New York State blocked a permit to build the Constitution Pipeline.” So we ask the question, will Trump’s EO actually help get the Constitution built?
President Trump visited Houston, Texas yesterday to sign a pair of Executive Orders to help spur more energy infrastructure development across the country. In particular, the orders were aimed at clearing away roadblocks some states (like New York) put up to try and block new pipelines. Was it a silver bullet that will mean projects like the Constitution Pipeline will now get built? Sadly, no. But it was, according to many in the oil and gas industry, “a step in the right direction.”
Last week MDN reported that the white hot chatter that President Trump will soon issue an Executive Order (EO) overruling states like New York from preventing critical federal pipeline projects is about to become a reality (see 
Last August the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a decision overruling the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to allow National Fuel Gas Company’s Northern Access Pipeline project to proceed (see 
In addition to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) slapping down the New York DEC this week (see our lead story), on Wednesday the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals slapped down both New York and North Carolina regulators who tried to block three important Williams pipeline projects, all related to the mighty Transco Pipeline.
The Cuomo-corrupted New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is spitting and sputtering, “warning” the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that if they (FERC) decide to rule that NY took too long to approve the Williams Constitution Pipeline and now gives the project a go-ahead, the DEC intends to rain down all sorts of legal hell on the agency. Which tells us one thing: the DEC is VERY nervous that their power to block pipeline projects is about to be neutered.