
一 | PORTLAND, Ore. -- Federal regulators on Thursday approved the expansion of a natural gas pipeline in the Pacific Northwest over the protest of environmental groups and top officials in West Coast states, who said it goes against the region’s plans to address climate change and could pose a wildfire risk.The project, known as GTN Xpress, aims to expand the capacity of the Gas Transmission Northwest pipeline, which runs through Idaho, Washington and Oregon, by about 150 million cubic feet (4.2 million cubic meters) of natural gas per day. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave it the green light in a vote on Thursday.TC Energy plans to modify three compressor stations along the pipeline — in Kootenai County, Idaho; Walla Walla County, Washington; and Sherman County, Oregon. Compressor stations help maintain the pressure and flow of gas over long distances in a pipeline. Environmental groups criticized the decision of the commission, which "failed to listen to Senators, Governors, State Attorneys General, Tribes, and the public in its rubber stamp of unnecessary fracked gas in the Northwest,” said Audrey Leonard, staff attorney for Columbia Riverkeeper, an environmental nonprofit, in a statement.Leonard said potential spills and explosions on the pipeline, which was built in the 1960s, would not only harm the environment but also present a heightened wildfire risk in the arid regions it passes through.“An explosion of that level in eastern Washington or eastern Oregon would be catastrophic,” she said.Leonard said Columbia Riverkeeper will appeal the federal regulators’ decision and submit a petition for a rehearing. The pipeline belongs to TC Energy of Calgary, Canada — the same company behind the now-abandoned Keystone XL crude oil pipeline. The company said the project is necessary to meet consumer demand.Environmentalists and officials opposed to the project have expressed concern about TC Energy’s safety record. Its Columbia Gas Transmission pipeline exploded in Strasburg, Virginia, in July and its existing Keystone pipeline spilled nearly 600,000 gallons of bitumen oil in Kansas last December.The 1,377-mile (2,216-kilometer) pipeline runs from the Canadian border through a corner of Idaho and into Washington state and Oregon, connecting with a pipeline going into California.While Idaho’s Republican governor and congress members said that imposing other states’ climate policies would be “misguided,” Democratic officials in the other states called on federal officials to reject the plan. After the vote, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, condemned the decision.The project is “incompatible with our climate laws,” said a letter to the agency by Democratic U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington.“GTN Xpress represents a significant expansion of methane gas infrastructure at a time when California, Oregon, and Washington are moving away from fossil fuels,” the senators said.The attorneys general of the three states, citing the commission's draft environmental impact statement for the project, said it would result in more than 3.47 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year for at least the next three decades. The agency’s final environmental assessment revised that number downward by roughly half in calculations contested by environmental groups.The agency’s chairman, Willie Phillips, reiterated its stance after Thursday’s vote.“There was no evidence presented that this project would significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions,” he told reporters. “The commission determined that this project was needed and therefore we support its approval.”In its final environmental impact statement for the project issued last November, the federal agency said the compressor stations were in non-forested areas with low to moderate fire hazard. It concluded the project “would result in limited adverse impacts on the environment.”“Most adverse environmental impacts would be temporary or short-term,” the federal agency said. The agency recommended certain steps, such as requiring the company to train its personnel and contractors on environmental mitigation measures before any construction begins. But environmental groups say the assessment didn’t adequately address the harm caused by the project, including by fracking to obtain the natural gas that flows through the pipeline. Fracking is a technique used by the energy industry to extract oil and gas from rock by injecting high-pressure mixtures of water, sand or gravel and chemicals. It has been criticized by climate and environment groups for increasing emissions of methane, an extraordinarily potent greenhouse gas. ___Claire Rush is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.。 Rome, Oct 22 (UNI) The new Italian government formed by appointed Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was officially sworn in at the presidential Palace on Saturday.
Meloni had been formally appointed and accepted the mandate on Friday, after being summoned by President Sergio Mattarella at the end of his short round of consultations with all parties' leaders in parliament.
If Meloni and her cabinet pass confidence vote at the parliament, she will serve as the country's first female prime minister ever.
Italy held a snap general election on Sept. 25, following the resignation of Mario Draghi as prime minister in July, which put an end to a government of national unity that led the country for some 17 months.
Meloni -- the leader of right-wing Brothers of Italy -- was asked to form the new government after her party won 26 percent of votes in the recent polls, ending up as the most voted force.
She had run the campaign with her two coalition allies, the center-right Forza Italia party of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and the anti-immigrant and Eurosceptic League led by Matteo Salvini, both of which gained a little over 8 percent of the votes.
As such, the right-wing coalition marked a clear victory and, with the current mainly first-past-the-post electoral system, was able to secure a solid majority of seats in both the chambers of the Italian parliament.
The swearing ceremony took place at the Quirinal presidential palace on Saturday morning.
Overall, Brothers of Italy named 9 ministers in the cabinet, while League and Forza Italia 5 ministers each. Further 5 cabinet posts will be covered by technocrat figures.
Now, after being officially sworn in, the cabinet will need the confidence of both the Lower House and the Senate in order to enter into force. The voting will take place on two separate days next week.
The new cabinet would count 24 ministers, including some key figures. These include Giancarlo Giorgietti, who would serve as Economy and Finance minister after being Industry minister in the previous cabinet, and Antonio Tajani as next minister of Foreign Affairs and as one of the two deputy prime ministers named by Meloni.
League's leader Matteo Salvini will serve as minister of Infrastructure, and as deputy prime minister as well. Matteo Piantedosi, a former chief of staff to Salvini, will be the next Interior minister, while Aldolfo Urso and Guido Crosetto -- both from Meloni's Brothers of Italy -- would serve as Industry minister and Defence minister, respectively.
UNI/XINHUA GNK。
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