NY Rejects a Natural Gas Pipeline, and Federal Regulators Say That's OK

"FERC overruled the state on a different gas pipeline last fall, but new Trump appointees to the commission allowed the Constitution Pipeline rejection to stand."

"In a setback for the fossil fuel industry, federal energy regulators rejected a petition from the Constitution Pipeline Company to overturn New York State's denial of a water permit for a proposed natural gas pipeline. Without the permit, the pipeline can't be built.

In a decision on Jan. 11, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) denied the request from the company to revive the proposed 125-mile Constitution Pipeline from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania to Upstate New York.

The decision comes during one of the largest expansions of natural gas infrastructure in U.S. history, a buildout that critics say is driven more by the financial interests of gas and electric companies than market demand."

Phil McKenna reports for InsideClimate News January 16, 2018.