Just a day after the Department of Energy referred to fracked gas as “freedom gas” and announced its intent to push a “regulatory system that allows for molecules of U.S. freedom to be exported,” the Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), has doubled down on that concept:
Chatterjee’s Tweet drew criticism from Sierra Club Beyond Dirty Fuels Director Kelly Martin, “Poisoned water, polluted communities, and the climate crisis are not signs of freedom, they are the result of politicians beholden to corporate polluters. Fracked gas poisons the air we breathe, the water we drink, and is linked to negative health effects like premature births, breathing problems, and even cancer.
“Chairman Chatterjee’s mind-boggling decision to join the Trump administration in calling fracked gas ‘freedom gas,’ once again reveals his biases towards the dirty, dangerous fossil fuels that threaten our climate and communities. Chatterjee must follow the same rules as his colleagues on the Commission and remain an independent arbiter looking out for the interests of Americans, not cheerleading polluting corporations.”
FERC is an independent agency tasked with regulating interstate electric, oil, and gas transmission with a neutral posture on fuel sources. The Commission is responsible for reviewing proposed gas pipelines and the energy mix to determine if they are needed, economically and environmentally sound, and in the public’s interest. FERC is also charged with analyzing the expected climate change effects of burning the gas transported by pipeline projects.
