GTN Xpress is a fossil fuel industry scheme to pump more fracked gas into an existing pipeline that cuts across the Northwest.
In 2019, TC Energy proposed an expansion to its Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN) pipeline—we put up a fight that garnered massive opposition.
GTN Xpress expanded pipeline capacity by 150,000 dekatherms per day—the equivalent of adding 754,000 cars to the road every year for 30 years. That’s an awful lot of gas to be piping into states whose climate and energy laws require reducing fracked gas consumption to reach climate targets.
About the pipeline
The GTN pipeline is owned by TC Energy, the oil and gas company behind the failed Keystone XL oil pipeline. TC Energy’s GTN pipeline transports fracked gas for markets in the Northwest. It runs from Kingsgate, British Columbia, through Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, terminating near Malin, Oregon. In 2019, TC Energy proposed a “compression-only” expansion of its system—called GTN Xpress—which would increase the volume of gas moving through the pipeline. The project consists of software upgrades and construction of gas-fired compressor station infrastructure to move more gas at higher pressure. Cascade Natural Gas, Intermountain Natural Gas Company, and Tourmaline Oil are the three entities contracted to buy the new gas from GTN Xpress.
Opposition to expansion
Since TC Energy applied for permission to construct GTN Xpress in 2021, opposition to the project grew tremendously, including:
- 3 State Attorneys General: Ferguson (WA), Rosenblum (OR), Bonta (CA);
- 2 Governors: Inslee (WA) and Kotek (OR);
- 6 U.S. Senators: Merkley (OR), Wyden (OR), Cantwell (WA), Murray (WA), Padilla (CA), Feinstein (CA);
- 3 U.S. Representatives: Blumenauer (OR), Salinas (OR), Jayapal (WA);
- 4 State Representatives: Doglio (WA), Duerr (WA), Ramel (WA), Marsh (OR);
- The Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission;
- Over 50 grassroots environmental, faith-based, public health, and social justice organizations;
- And thousands of individuals across the nation.
Opposition to the project is rooted in three interconnected areas:
- Climate and Air Pollution: Impacts from burning additional fracked gas and operating pipeline infrastructure.
- Demand: The new gas from GTN Xpress is not necessary because our states’ climate and energy laws require reductions in fracked gas consumption. Ratepayers should not have to pay for expensive new gas infrastructure.
- Safety: TC Energy has a history of pipeline spills and explosions and cannot be trusted to build and maintain safe pipelines—let alone pump more pressurized gas into an old pipeline.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the agency responsible for approving interstate pipeline projects like GTN Xpress. Unfortunately, FERC is known for rubber-stamping nearly every pipeline project it receives, regardless of environmental or community impacts. In the last two decades, FERC has only rejected 2 fracked gas projects out of nearly 500.
Even though we knew our chances were slim, we presented FERC with plenty of evidence to reject GTN Xpress.
FERC eventually approved GTN Xpress in October 2023, but not without sharp criticism from pipeline communities and elected officials.
We sued.
Columbia Riverkeeper, along with Rogue Climate, challenged FERC’s approval of GTN Xpress in federal court, represented by Crag Law Center and Earthjustice.
The states of Washington and Oregon pursued a separate legal challenge, due to FERC’s refusal to consider state climate and energy laws in its analysis.
Unfortunately, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately upheld FERC’s approval, citing a new Supreme Court case regarding the National Environmental Policy Act.
What’s next?
We are tracking Cascade Natural Gas’s investment in GTN Xpress, and weighing in at the Washington and Oregon state utility commissions to prevent Cascade from profiting off of this risky, unnecessary investment.
Columbia Riverkeeper will build on the tremendous regional momentum to oppose new gas infrastructure projects. The “Stop GTN Xpress” coalition that opposed the project has expanded to “Stop NW Gas Expansion” and broadened its mission to stop gas infrastructure buildout and reliance on gas at local, state, and federal levels.
Columbia Riverkeeper is committed to watchdogging new gas infrastructure proposals in the Northwest, especially as new threats—like data center buildout—arise
