1. The Natural Gas Act & NEPA: How will FERC review the proposed Dominion pipeline? Greg Buppert, Southern Environmental Law Center

2. Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 717 - 717z Two primary objectives: “encourag[ing] the orderly development of plentiful supplies of... natural gas at reasonable prices” “protect[ing] consumers against exploitation at the hands of natural gas companies”

3. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity Balance the public benefits against the adverse impacts FERC approval when the public benefits outweigh the adverse impacts

4. Public Benefits Meeting unserved demand Eliminating bottlenecks Access to new supplies Lower costs to consumers Improving the grid Providing competitive alternatives Increasing reliability Advancing clean air objectives

5. Adverse Impacts on Landowners the Surrounding Community Primarily an economic analysis Use of eminent domain Property values Impacts on agriculture Road damage Risk to water supplies

6. National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321-4370h Requires that FERC take a “hard look” at the environmental impacts Requires that FERC consider alternatives to the project But does not require that FERC choose the least damaging alternative

7. FERC EIS Pre-Filing Environmental Review Process Schematic: http://www.ferc.gov/help/processes/flow/process-eis.asp

8. FERC EIS Pre-Filing Environmental Review Process (continued) Schematic: http://www.ferc.gov/help/processes/flow/process-eis.asp

9. www.SouthernEnvironment.org Greg Buppert, Southern Environmental Law Center