Don Santa, president and CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, today released the following statement commending the White House’s call to action to modernize and upgrade the nation’s infrastructure:
“We commend President Obama for taking action to implement the March 2012 Executive Order 13604 to modernize and upgrade our nation’s infrastructure, and particularly his efforts to streamline the federal permitting process to ensure timely approval of projects.
“While the White House fact sheet does not specifically mention pipeline projects, we hope the administration will work with Congress and various federal agencies to improve the permitting process for interstate natural gas pipelines. Pipelines are the key to America’s natural gas revolution because they are the indispensable link from the supply source to the ultimate gas consumer.
“The House of Representatives already has passed H.R. 1900, sponsored by Rep. Mike Pompeo (Republican-Kansas) to aid this effort. The bill is consistent with the principal recommendation of an INGAA Foundation permitting report released in December of 2012. The report found that, while the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission does an effective job of reviewing applications to build new pipelines, it lacks the authority to enforce permitting deadlines for other federal and state agencies. This deficiency increasingly is causing pipeline project delays. Providing clear permitting deadline authority will add certainty to the process and encourage timely decision-making.
“We hope the White House will support, and the Senate will take prompt action on, the Pompeo legislation that will facilitate the responsible and orderly development of infrastructure that will enable consumers to realize more fully the benefits of the shale revolution.”
