Washington, D.C. (March 25, 2022)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, released a statement following the issuance of a new order related to the Midship Pipeline by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which reaffirmed a prior FERC order directing an Administrative Law Judge to determine the methods, scope, and reasonable cost required to fully restore a particular tract of land on Sandy Creek Farms:

“It has been nearly two years since the Midship pipeline went into service, yet there continue to be extensive restoration issues on the private property of landowners and farmers along the path of the pipeline.  Midship and its parent company, Cheniere Energy, have stubbornly refused to do the right thing by helping private landowners restore their land so they can use it without impediment.  This order from FERC is a step in the right direction in confirming that Midship needs to be held responsible for the damage it has caused.”

On February 19, 2020, the Subcommittee launched an investigation into the use of eminent domain in the construction of natural gas pipelines.  On April 28, 2020, the Subcommittee released preliminary findings of the investigation revealing that the natural gas pipeline approval process used by FERC is unfair to private landowners. 

On November 20, 2020, the Subcommittee expanded its investigation by requesting information about procedures that FERC uses to resolve conflicts between landowners and energy companies.  The Subcommittee then held two hearings in December 2020 and May 2021 examining the poor treatment of farmers by Cheniere Energy along the Midship Pipeline and pressing FERC to better protect landowners whose properties are affected by natural gas projects.