Chavez-DeRemer, Bentz urge approval of natural gas pipeline expansion
Published 11:00 am Saturday, October 14, 2023
- Activists protest the proposed expansion of the GTN Pipeline in February in downtown Bend.
U.S. Reps. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Happy Valley, and Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve an expansion of a natural gas pipeline that runs near Bend.
The decision has been held up in the commission for months. The roughly $335 million pipeline expansion, which was proposed by Canadian natural gas company TC Energy Corporation, has drawn criticism from Bend activist groups.
A protest against the expansion project, which would increase the flow of methane within the 1,300-mile pipeline, was held in downtown Bend in February.
Expansion of natural gas pipeline near Bend sparks local opposition
The expansion is called the GTN Xpress Project. While some, including the representatives from Oregon, laud the increased efficiency and cost savings it can bring for natural gas users by allowing more methane to flow through the pipeline, others say it could contribute an additional 3.47 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year.
The representatives said in a letter that the expansion will lower energy costs and improve reliability in the states the pipeline runs through, which are Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California. It follows the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad line on the outskirts of Bend.
“This delay has created significant uncertainty for energy users in the states and districts we represent and will likely subject them to higher priced energy alternatives,” the letter read, which was signed by Bentz, Chavez-DeRemer, four representatives from Idaho, one from California and one from North Dakota.
“It is unreasonable for a project like GTN XPress, which meets all the Commission’s criteria and impacts no landowners, to be subject to such lengthy delays,” the letter read.
The attorneys general from Oregon, California and Washington requested the commission deny the proposed expansion more than a year ago and again in February. U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, have also previously said they oppose the project.
