Safer Pipelines Act of 2016

Safe and Accountable Federal Energy Review for Pipelines Act of 2016 or the Safer Pipelines Act of 2016

This bill amends the Natural Gas Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), before granting a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a proposed pipeline expansion project, to:

• conduct a full evidentiary hearing on the need for the expansion or a cumulative review of planned energy infrastructure projects in the region of the proposed expansion; and
• consider matters that include existing capacity, renewable energy goals, and the ability to otherwise meet energy needs.

Additionally, FERC must: (1) consider, in the case of interstate pipeline projects, the cumulative environmental impacts of other interstate or regional projects; and (2) monitor approved pipeline projects for five years to ensure that environmental mitigation steps have been implemented.