Joint Concurrence - Commissioner Richard Glick and Allison Clements
January 19, 2021
Docket No. CP17-40-005
Order: C-18
We concur in today’s order. We write separately to underscore that this order is not the end of the road for landowners aggrieved by what they believe to be Spire STL Pipeline LLC’s (Spire) failure to adequately restore their lands. The determinations in today’s order are made on the record compiled in this proceeding. Those determinations do not preclude landowners from continuing to pursue their claims before the Commission based on additional arguments or evidence that they may choose to introduce.[1] We have serious concerns about whether Spire has adequately restored the lands affected by the construction of the pipeline and will retain an open mind when reviewing any future allegations on that score.
On a more general level, we are troubled by the challenges arrayed against landowners as they attempt “to navigate the sometimes byzantine set of rules and regulations that can make up a FERC proceeding.”[2] Much of today’s order turns on procedural determinations regarding who should have sought rehearing, of what, and when they should have done so. And while we agree that those determinations are the correct application of the Commission’s rule and regulations, the fact that we have to make them at all is a reminder that the Commission must redouble its efforts to ensure that our proceedings adequately accommodate landowners and other entities that lack the same means as pipeline developers to hire expert representation. We hope that becomes a Commission priority in the months ahead. In particular, we must prioritize establishing a robust Office of Public Participation, which will help landowners and others ensure that their voices are heard by this Commission.
For these reasons, we respectfully concur.
[1] In addition, we note that the Commission itself did not rule on the earlier complaints filed by the individual landowners, which were addressed by Commission staff via delegated authority. See Spire STL Pipeline LLC, 174 FERC ¶ 61,058, at P 6 (2021). No party sought rehearing of those delegated orders. Id.
[2] See Midship Pipeline Co., 173 FERC ¶ 61,075 (2020) (Glick, Comm’r, concurring at P 1).