Landowners and other interested people, organizations, municipalities, and agencies can submit comments and / or protests by January 29, 2026. Any person or entity that did not intervene between 2013 and 2020 can do so now. Instructions for how to do this are in FERC’s Notice and on its website. Click on “Public Participation.”
Points you can make to FERC:
- The Commission lacks authority to re-issue or re-affirm orders that were vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on November 18, 2021.
- If Constitution wants to build its pipeline, it must reapply according to the requirements of the Natural Gas Act, FERC’s regulations, and all other pertinent laws.
- There is no market need for this project. In its Petition, Constitution admits that it does not have precedent agreements or end users for the gas that would be transported in this pipeline. Since the project is a speculative venture, it must fail FERC’s balancing test. Revealing this information later in the process (as Constitution is proposing) does not give intervenors an opportunity to develop expert testimony in opposition.
- While Constitution claims it would lower gas prices in New York City and New England, its pipeline would end at Wright, NY. The gas pipelines it would interconnect with are already filled with gas when there is a demand for it. Since the Constitution Pipeline would not be expanding the amount of gas in those interconnecting pipelines, it cannot significantly lower the cost of gas.
- FERC’s approval of the Iroquois Expansion Project (CP20-48) was specifically based on the need to diversify the sources of gas going to New York and the Northeast in order to enhance reliability. The shippers in the project would be providing gas from the West, not from Pennsylvania, Ohio, or the South. Thus if there was an extreme weather event or some other disruption that obstructed the normal flow of gas from the South, gas could still flow to New York City and the Northeast from the West. The Commission cannot arbitrarily alter its prior decision by granting Constitution’s Petition.
- This expedited process would violate the due process rights of landowners who purchased land along the Constitution Pipeline route since 2014. This is also true of other individuals and landowners who did not participate between 2012 and 2020.
- The 2014 DEIS and FEIS were flawed for many reasons, including the fact that about half the land had not been surveyed. Therefore FERC and the other agencies cannot rely on it now. In addition, circumstances and laws have changed since 2014.