Overview
Steptoe partner Marc Spitzer is quoted in an Inside FERC article titled “In Era of Public Activism, Pipeline Companies See Stretched-Out Process, Need for Outreach.” The article, published September 14, discusses a new reality for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the companies developing interstate natural gas pipelines. Large pipeline projects, particularly in the densely populated US Northeast, are drawing public scrutiny, resistance and intensifying protests.
Mr. Spitzer, a former FERC Commissioner, points out that opposition to energy infrastructure has been around for a long time and NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard) is “sort of a tradition in the US.” Historically, the East Coast, north of Pennsylvania, and the West Coast have been the most difficult for siting infrastructure.
Mr. Spitzer says the rise of the Internet and social media has increased the ability of middle class or even lower income people to organize and get political leaders’ attention. Increasingly people are able to mobilize public support to get on the radar of politicians, for instance by getting petitions with 30,000 signatures. “No longer is NIMBY the province of the rich,” he adds.
The full article can be read at Inside FERC (subscription required).
