This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
asserted
story → publish → collaboration
Alan Armstrong of Oklahoma entered the U.S. Senate to fill a vacancy in March with a clear priority: pass permitting reform that he argued was necessary based on his experience leading a major natural gas pipeline company.
asserted
he → enter → company
Now, as he prepares to leave office, that goal is within reach—with big potential benefits for the company and him personally.
asserted
goal → prepare → company
The bipartisan permitting bill slated for a vote next week would overhaul regulations for building all kinds of projects.
asserted
bill → slat → projects
But it also includes provisions Armstrong promoted that could push through a disputed pipeline that the Williams Companies, his former employer, has tried to build through New York for more than a decade.
uncertain
Companies → include → decade
When state regulators denied a water quality permit for the Constitution pipeline in 2016, it was a rare rebuke for an industry unaccustomed to having government officials block its projects.
asserted
officials → deny → projects
Provisions in the new bill would limit New York’s authority to deny it again.
asserted
Provisions → limit → it
Williams is now asking federal regulators to revive their approval of the pipeline from more than a decade ago.
asserted
Williams → ask → pipeline
Armstrong continued to hold at least tens of millions of dollars in Williams stock as of October 22, according to his most recent financial disclosures.
uncertain
Armstrong → continue → disclosures
He also hired three former Williams colleagues to his staff, one of whom maintained his role as senior vice president and general counsel at the company while temporarily serving as Armstrong’s chief of staff in the Senate.
asserted
one → hire → Senate
The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act would greatly restrict states’ and tribes’ ability to deny or place conditions on water quality certifications.
asserted
Act → restrict → certifications
The bill would also make other changes to accelerate approval of Constitution and other pipelines, including restricting judicial review and scaling back certain environmental reviews.
asserted
bill → make → reviews
Environmental lawyers say changes to what’s known as a Section 401 certification of the federal Clean Water Act appear tailored to help a small number of gas pipeline projects.
asserted
what → say → projects
One of the companies that would benefit most is Williams, where Armstrong served as chief executive and chairman for 15 years until his appointment in March by Oklahoma’s governor to fill a vacated Senate seat.
asserted
Armstrong → benefit → seat
Williams has already received extraordinary support from the Trump administration.
asserted
Williams → receive → administration
President Donald Trump claimed he made a deal with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to get the Constitution pipeline built, which she denies.
asserted
she → claim → which
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin has pledged support for the pipeline, and his agency is finalizing a rule change that would restrict states’ and tribes’ ability to condition permits in order to safeguard water quality, similar to the permitting bill.
asserted
that → pledge → bill
In October, the US Department of Energy said it would devote up to $42 million under the Defense Production Act to pay permitting costs for the project.
asserted
it → say → project
Armstrong’s office did not respond to questions for this article, though he has frequently criticized what he calls a broken regulatory system that drives up costs.
asserted
that → respond → costs
“When every pipeline, transmission line, power plant and industrial project is treated as something to stop rather than something to build responsibly, the costs do not disappear,” Armstrong said in a Senate speech in July.
asserted
Armstrong → treat → July
“They accumulate slowly, until families are paying more, reliability is deteriorating, and investment is moving elsewhere.”
asserted
investment → accumulate → more
Williams spokesperson Blake Jackson said the company supports the permitting bill “and all its provisions to provide a tech-neutral and level-playing field for all energy infrastructure.”
asserted
company → say → infrastructure
Some residents of upstate New York see things differently.
asserted
residents → see → things
Anne Marie Garti, a lawyer who owns a home near the Constitution pipeline route, fought the project the first time around.
asserted
who → own → project
From the start, “there was a huge amount of opposition,” Garti said, “and skepticism.”
asserted
Garti → be → opposition
The Constitution project would run 125 miles from the Pennsylvania shale gas fields across upstate New York, eventually connecting to other interstate pipelines.
asserted
project → run → pipelines
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, also known as FERC, oversees interstate gas pipelines.
asserted
Commission → know → pipelines
But states retain authority under the Clean Water Act, which requires energy companies like Williams to apply for water quality certifications.
asserted
which → retain → certifications
Garti called these permits the “weak link” in the regulatory process.
asserted
Garti → call → process
Taking inspiration from an earlier permit denial in Connecticut, she and other residents focused their fight on the pipeline’s potential effects on 251 streams along its route.
asserted
she → take → route
State regulators said 87 of those streams provided trout habitat.
asserted
87 → say → habitat
Building the pipeline would require digging trenches across streams, diverting their flow and clearing trees and brush along their banks.
asserted
Building → build → banks
The work would send sediment into clear waters, raise temperatures and temporarily damage habitat for trout and other species, according to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s 2016 denial.
uncertain
work → send → denial
State regulators rarely reject water quality permits, which are needed not only for pipelines but many federally regulated projects.
asserted
which → reject → pipelines
In a recent survey of 24 states by the Association of Clean Water Administrators, no state reported a denial rate higher than 3.5 percent—most said they’d never denied a permit.
asserted
they → report → permit
New York denied the certification for Constitution in 2016, saying the company had failed to address the project’s water quality impacts and had not provided sufficient proof that Williams would comply with state standards.
asserted
Williams → deny → standards
The denial kicked off years of legal wrangling.
asserted
denial → kick → wrangling
In 2020, Williams said it would not pursue the pipeline and a federal appeals court ruling later vacated the federal permit.
asserted
ruling → say → permit
Another permit denial followed in 2019 for a second Williams project: the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline that would have run from New Jersey across the New York harbor.
asserted
that → follow → harbor
A few other pipeline proposals in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic faced similar fates, while in some cases regulators imposed conditions to protect waterways.
asserted
regulators → face → waterways
…and 55 more, not listed.
The Aporia
.png)
