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FERC

Climate Crisis Activists Trying To Head Off Trump Destruction

This month’s regular FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) meeting was anything but calm after four climate crisis activists were removed for disrupting the proceedings. That event, along with the regular monthly streetside protest outside the agency’s headquarters that draws attention to the rapidly and ever-growing climate crisis the world is facing, set off a day of climate activism “From FERC to the Senate.” Using Senator Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) own words proclaiming that he has “A whole lot of clout as Senate Minority Leader,” activists asked that anyone concerned about the climate crisis call his office to

Fall Of FERC Actions A Wild Success!

Washington, DC - Beyond Extreme Energy folks kicked things off at 6:00 am on Thursday, September 19, by hanging large banners across from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. At 7:00 am, a crew of elders from Third Act DMV and Beyond Extreme Energy used rocking chairs to blockade the driveway to FERC’s garage. They held banners reading “The Fall of FERC” and “US Courts: FERC is a Climate Denier.” The Federal Protective Service of the Department of Homeland Security arrived and asked the blockaders to leave. At 9:00 am, dozens of adults and kids from Gulf Coast communities in Louisiana and Texas rallied with their supporters outside FERC, demanding that commissioners listen to their concerns about FERC continuing to greenlight LNG export terminals, which are hugely polluting for frontline communities and for the climate.

Massive CP2 LNG Export Facility Faces New Legal Hurdle Over FERC Approval

Environmental advocates, landowners, and fishers filed two petitions with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday, challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) recent authorization for the construction of a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. FERC approved the Calcasieu Pass (CP2) LNG terminal proposed by Venture Global in a 2-1 vote in late June. “The approval of the CP2 LNG project is a clear indication that FERC is serving the interests of powerful industry actors rather than protecting vulnerable communities and upholding the public interest,” James Hiatt, a former oil refinery worker and Director of the Louisiana-based nonprofit For a Better Bayou, wrote in a prepared statement.

DC Circuit Rules Against FERC Approval Of LNG And Pipeline Projects

On Tuesday, Aug. 6, the D.C. Circuit Court issued a decision that effectively cancels the previous approval of three harmful methane gas projects in South Texas by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), marking the first time a court has vacated FERC approval of an LNG terminal. In 2023, FERC reapproved Rio Grande LNG, Texas LNG, and the Rio Bravo pipeline, despite widespread concerns for the harm the projects would cause to the surrounding communities and the climate. The Sierra Club, the City of Port Isabel, the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, and Vecinos para el Bienestar de la Comunidad Costera sued FERC for failing to adequately consider the environmental justice impacts and greenhouse gas emissions of the three projects, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act and the Natural Gas Act.

Climate Activists Demonstrate At FERC Calling For No Gas Exports

Washington, DC, — Activists and frontline leaders against fossil fuels rallied outside the headquarters of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) this morning. The Biden Administration has put a one year pause on any approvals by the Department of Energy of permits for LNG export terminals in the Gulf South, as they assess what is the “public interest” regarding these massive and destructive fossil fuel projects. But FERC, the other federal agency that must approve permits for LNG export terminals, has not yet taken similar action. Activists also called on FERC to reject the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s request to go into service on the same day (May 23) given major widespread safety issues.

Rio Grande LNG’s Developer Led Ghostwriting Campaign

In March, a man named David Irizarry wrote a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in support of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to be built in Brownsville, Texas. The Rio Grande LNG project (RGLNG), estimated to cost more than $11 billion, would be the largest private sector investment in Texas’ history. But it was awaiting a key decision from FERC. “As you know, the US appeals court of the DC circuit rejected all but two of the claims put forward by opponents of RGLNG related to RGLNG’s FERC order,” Irizarry wrote. Irizarry is not in the gas business, nor does he deal with energy policy.

The New Landscape For Fighting Fossil Fuel Infrastructure

For more than 20 years, Columbia Riverkeeper has fought dirty fossil fuel infrastructure — and won. Together with firefighters, fishers, foresters, farmers, health professionals, educators, union leaders, and tribes, we stopped more than a dozen proposed fossil fuel facilities, ranging from coal exports to LNG terminals.  Because of our success, the fossil fuel industry has begun trying to expand existing infrastructure rather than build new facilities. What’s the difference? Existing infrastructure typically has some of the required permits, and regulators generally approve capacity expansions even where they might reject a new project.

May 18: Stop Manchin’s FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)

Since March of last year, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin has been working with Republicans on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee which he chairs to prevent any substantive change at FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. They must stop their rubber stamping of methane gas pipelines and LNG projects! Here’s what Manchin has been and is doing, right now: -March 2022: He forced FERC commissioners to retract a new policy announced in February 2022 to require methane gas permit applications to include substantive environmental justice and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions analysis, and improved economic needs analysis.

Activists Disrupt ‘Joe Manchin’s’ FERC Meeting

Yesterday BXE rallied in front of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) office in D.C. - greeting staff and commissioners as they came for the monthly commissioners meeting! We then supported a #FrontlinesToFERC press conference- a group of Gulf Coast organizers who spoke on the numerous frontline LNG fights coming before FERC. As the FERC meeting began- 3BXEactivists disrupted the meeting and were hauled out chanting. Four more BXE members that were not allowed into the meeting (due to past disruptions) managed to get into the meeting anyway- yelling "STOP MANCHIN'S FERC" and deploying a banner. A security guard knocked people over, but we kept on yelling as we were kicked out of the building!

Anti-Mountain Valley Pipeline Protest

A small group of dedicated activists today rallied in front of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) headquarters calling for the commission not to issue a second extension certificate to the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) a $5.5 billion 303-mile-long interstate natural gas project. The 42-inch diameter pipeline is facing opposition from numerable groups with issues related to global warming, the route’s effect on endangered species, construction issues including continual erosion problems along its length along with complaints from landowners whose property the massive pipeline project is crossing. The commission is meeting today to consider granting the second extension request to MVP for completion of the final 20-mile segment of the project.

Thursday: Day Of Action Targeting The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Something new is happening this Thursday, February 18 at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).  A person will be chairing a FERC Commissioners meeting who has written publicly that he appreciates why some consider FERC to be a rubber-stamp agency. Richard Glick has done more than this in his three-plus years as a FERC Commissioner. He has openly opposed and written strong dissents, primarily but not only on climate grounds, to majority decisions approving new gas pipelines, LNG terminals and compressor stations. Those dissents likely helped lead the DC Court of Appeals to strike down last year, FERC’s “Kafkaesque” (their words) decades-long abuse of...

Climate Justice Advocates Celebrate Important Victories But Big Oil And Gas Aren’t Giving In

Climate justice advocates are justifiably celebrating recent victories such as stopping three major pipelines, a new court decision regarding the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and national discussion of the Green New Deal, but does this mean we are winning? We speak with Steve Horn, a climate reporter and investigative journalist, about the future of the Atlantic Coast, Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, what it means that oil companies are going bankrupt and a proposal to create a North American version of OPEC. Steve describes how fossil fuel companies are working to preserve their future and what we must do to save ours.

Climate Activists Sit In For Major Changes At Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Washington, DC - On February 20, members of the climate justice group Beyond Extreme Energy held a sit-in inside the offices of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Seven activists disrupted FERC’s monthly commissioner's meeting, calling for FERC to be replaced with the ‘Federal Renewable Energy Commission’ (FREC). An additional five BXE members sat down blocking a staircase, before being forcibly removed. Members of the group sang and unfurled banners reading “FERC Permits Climate Crimes” and “FREC sustains communities and the earth.” They sat peacefully in the FERC headquarters until forcibly removed by building security. BXE member Jerome Wagner said the action was necessary because, “Under the Trump administration, FERC has become even more rogue, brazenly prioritizing fossil fuels over renewables and continuing to serve as a rubber stamp for natural gas infrastructure expansion.”

FERC Props Up Coal And Gas In Clime Crime Decision Subsidizing Them Against Clean Energy

Federal energy regulators issued an order Thursday that likely will tilt the market to favor coal and natural gas power plants in the nation's largest power grid region, stretching from New Jersey to Illinois. Critics say that it effectively creates a new subsidy to prop up uneconomical fossil fuel plants and that it will hurt renewable energy growth and, ultimately, consumers. The new rules, approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, are designed to counteract state subsidies that support the growth of renewable energy and use of nuclear power.

‘No More Fossil Lovers!’, BXE Disrupts Hearing For New FERC Commissioner

Washington, DC - Members of Beyond Extreme Energy (BXE) spoke out at the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing for James Danly, who was nominated by President Trump to be the third Republican commissioner at FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. BXE members unfurled a banner reading “Reject Danly” and yelled "FERC: No more fossil lovers! Wind and solar now!" before being arrested. The Danly nomination has been controversial because the Republican Danly was not paired with a Democrat nominee, as has been the norm at FERC for years. Danly is not qualified to be a FERC commissioner. Let us count the ways: He just graduated from law school in 2014. He had no regulatory experience when he was appointed by Pres. Trump in 2017 to be general counsel at FERC. 

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Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

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