The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General recommended changes after it found that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's process for granting certificates to pipelines and other natural gas infrastructure was hard for the public to follow.
An audit report by the Office of Inspector General found four areas of improvement for FERC related to communication with stakeholders. At the same time, the office found that FERC had, for the most part, followed the requirements of the Natural Gas Act and other laws, and the office said it had found no problems that would call into question the commission's approvals of gas pipelines.
In a response to a draft version of the May 24 report, FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre agreed with the findings. He said the commission would complete many of the recommended improvements between September and December. Among the changes, FERC plans to modernize its website to make searching for documents easier. The commission will provide a flowchart on its website that shows the steps of the permitting process along with the offices involved. A complete redesign of the FERC website is part of a long-term effort that will wrap up in 2019. FERC will also put in place procedures to make sure its staff consistently reviews and considers public comments.
Environmental group Delaware Riverkeeper Network, which has challenged FERC in court, was dissatisfied with the audit. The group said it did not include input from pipeline opposition groups, and the audit indicated that a pending FERC review of its 1999 permitting policy for pipelines would not result in any changes that might improve the commission's process for people challenging such projects.
"This report is genuinely appalling — it is the Office of the Inspector General giving rubber-stamp approval to FERC's biased and abusive rubber-stamp process when it comes to pipeline infrastructure including fracked gas pipelines, compressors, LNG exports and storage facilities," said the group's leader, Maya van Rossum.
The Office of Inspector General found that FERC's review process lacked transparency. The office pointed to the commission's pamphlets and website, which it said could provide a better explanation of the review process. The lack of information may deter the public from fully participating in the permitting process, according to the report. The office recommended that the commission improve its public-facing systems.
"FERC officials recognized that FERC's website did not have a single place that collectively explained all of the offices or steps involved with FERC's natural gas certification process," the report said.
The office said some parties' participation in project reviews could be limited by difficulty accessing to FERC documents. The office found it difficult to navigate the commission's online library and had a hard time looking for the status of pending applications. The review said that from 2006 to 2015, the commission failed to post review schedules. The office recommended that FERC provide training to stakeholders on how to use its library and that FERC conduct internal reviews to make sure all required documents are available.
FERC's ability to track and answer stakeholder comments was also criticized. "Specifically, while we observed that FERC was obtaining, considering, and aggregating stakeholder comments throughout the natural gas certification process, we found that FERC did not have documented processes or a consistent methodology for tracking the disposition of stakeholder comments regarding proposed natural gas projects," the report said.
The Office of Inspector General said this lack of a consistent process could result in FERC not responding to comments that should play a role in the commission's environmental review documents or final orders.
FERC can receive hundreds of comments on pipeline projects. The commissioners and staff typically group the concerns by issue and address the concerns in environmental review documents and final orders.
