The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission didn’t follow environmental laws when it approved a natural gas pipeline in New Jersey, a federal appeals court ruled. FERC approved the Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s 40-mile Northeast Upgrade project, which would have followed an existing pipeline’s route, in 2012. The Delaware Riverkeeper Network, the New Jersey Highlands Commission and the New Jersey Sierra Club argued that FERC did not take into account other expansion projects under consideration at the same time.
The U.S. District Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia last week agreed, sending the matter back to FERC for another review. “In conducting its environmental review of the Northeast Project without considering the other connected, closely related and interdependent projects on the Eastern Leg, FERC impermissibly segmented the environmental review in violation of NEPA,” the three appellate judges wrote in their decision. Kinder Morgan, the company that built and maintains the pipeline, says it will reapply for the necessary permits.
Maya van Rossum, head of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, said FERC has been allowing “illegal segmentation” by pipeline companies for years. “It is rewarding that a federal court has finally held FERC to account,” van Rossum said.
More: NJ.com
NRC Chair Tours Michigan Nuke Plants
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairwoman Allison M. Macfarlane toured two Michigan nuclear plants last week to view safety upgrades put in place after the Fukushima crisis in Japan. Macfarlane was accompanied by Michigan Rep. Fred Upton (R), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “A lot has changed since Fukushima,” Upton said. “It’s important that we learn from that.” They were shown additional safety equipment and other improvements taken in the wake of the nuclear incident in Japan.
More: MLive
NRC Staffers Fear Backlash if Critical
A recent internal Nuclear Regulatory Commission survey found that 75% of respondents said they were punished with poor performance reviews after objecting to agency decisions. The NRC Office of Enforcement conducted the survey last year.
In it, three-quarters of the employees who responded say they registered “non-concurrence” in certain situations and were later slapped with the poor performance reviews. Additionally, 63% said they felt they were excluded from certain tasks as a result of disagreeing with commission rulings, and 25% said they thought their criticisms had cost them a promotion. A quarter of respondents said they had been verbally abused by supervisors after objecting to certain decisions.
The report was released after Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) cited it during a hearing last Wednesday. Markey said he was concerned that NRC staffers may be afraid to question established rules. “Especially post-Fukushima, it’s very important that we get this culture to change,” he said. He added that his staff has heard from other whistleblowers as well. “They feel that when they step forward to report safety, security or other problems, they are systematically retaliated against.”
More: Government Executive
Indian Point Spike in Tritium Worries NRC
Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Indian Point officials are searching for the source of a spike in tritium found in monitoring wells near the nuclear plant. The spike was found near Indian Point Unit 2 in March. Subsequent testing last month found that the levels had decreased 92%, but officials are still concerned.
NRC officials said the contamination exceeds Environmental Protection Agency standards but is not a public health concern because it was located in bedrock and not in water used for drinking. “The levels that we’re talking about here are very much on the low side,” NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said. Tritium, a byproduct of nuclear power production, is a radioactive form of hydrogen.
An Associated Press review of NRC records in 2011 found 48 of 65 reactor sites had tritium leaks.
More: The Journal News
Federal Scientists Eyeing Oyster Creek in Study
The National Academy of Sciences is studying rates of cancer and other illnesses in the communities surrounding Exelon’s Oyster Creek nuclear plant and six other nuclear generators. The academy is conducting the study at the request of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to see if a broader analysis of all plants is needed.
Earlier studies failed to find a link between commercial nuclear plants and higher cancer rates, but some think that study was flawed because it only examined cancer deaths among men and didn’t include women and children.
More: Asbury Park Press
Feds Award Offshore Lease for Tidal Energy
The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management last week awarded a lease to Florida Atlantic University to test hydrokinetic energy equipment off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, the first time a lease has been awarded for such technology. The university’s Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center applied for the lease to test various demonstration devices in an area about 10 miles offshore.
The project involves anchoring several “test berths” to test ocean current turbine designs. The university will next submit a project plan for review. “This project is a potentially paradigm-shifting development in the global quest for clean energy,” FAU President John Kelley said.