Kaine Votes No on FERC Nominee Amid Final Greenlighting of Mountain Valley Pipeline

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, on the same day that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved operations of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), U.S. Senator Tim Kaine released the following statement regarding his vote against Mr. David Rosner. Mr. Rosner was nominated to serve as a member of FERC, the agency responsible for overseeing the permitting process and regulating the transmission of electricity, natural gas, and oil. Kaine’s vote follows significant concerns from Virginians related to a provision in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which Kaine strongly opposed, that greenlit the MVP by exempting it from normal permitting processes and eliminating judicial review of the project.

“I have long advocated for a more fair and transparent process when it comes to permits for natural gas pipelines. Like many Virginians, I was deeply frustrated by Congress’ decision to greenlight the MVP without normal administrative or judicial review, which took away my constituents’ ability to share their concerns. Today—the day that the MVP asked FERC for permission to switch on the gas—I voted no on rubber-stamping the same old people to FERC, especially to replace a commissioner who was forced out for implementing the kinds of permitting process improvements that Americans deserve.”

Last year, Kaine introduced a bill to make the FERC pipeline permitting process more fair and transparent.

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