WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, a federal energy board is weighing how a proposed natural gas pipeline would affect emissions.
It's one of several steps taken this week by the Biden administration in its effort to slow climate change.
With a new Democratic chair at the helm, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted 3-2 to approve a pipeline operator’s request to replace 87 miles of natural gas pipelines in South Dakota and Nebraska.
The board found that the project’s greenhouse gas emissions would not be significant.
The ruling marked the first time the commission has formally assessed a pipeline’s greenhouse gas emissions and their expected contribution to climate change.