Taxpayers and groups believing the Project could have an impact on them, their business, their community &/or the environment
Any concerned citizen
Local or state environmental groups municipal agencies/departments
People in neighboring communities should file to be intervenors since the planned project can shift for a multitude of reasons, and they might become more closely impacted with changed plans.
What is an intervenor?
An intervenor is someone who has decided to be a formal participant in the FERC permitting process. Filing for intervenor status does not force you to ever intervene (comment or act). It just allows you the opportunity to do so if the need arises. Any individual or group who feels they are impacted by the project can be an intervenor. Intervenors have the right to:
Participate in hearings before FERC’s Administrative Law Judges file briefs
File for rehearing of FERC decisions
Have legal standing in a Court of Appeals if you challenge FERC’s final decision
Be placed on a Service List to receive emails of case-related FERC documents & filings by other intervenors
When should one file to be an intervenor?
The Draft Environmental Statement (DEIS) was published (March 23, 2018), and FERC allowed a 45-day “comment period” for becoming an intervenor & submitting comments about your concerns, observations and requests. The end of the “comment period” is May 14, 2018.
Why is it important to register as an Intervenor?
Keep informed, ask questions, voice your opinion & have legal right to protest decisions
Intervening is a declaration that you are an interested party & want legal standing. You have no obligations to intervene or file comments, but it preserves your legal right to protest. If you do not declare that you are an Intervenor, you can’t challenge any FERC decisions. If FERC issues a decision that you do not like, you can only effectively protest if you are an intervenor.
FERC & Williams/Transco do not need to respond to comments by individuals who are not Intervenors. They are only obliged to “consider” the comments.
It costs nothing, and you do not need an attorney or incur any legal liability by intervening.
Municipal authorities as well as concerned individuals and groups will have no legal rights in this process if they are not registered as Intervenors.
NOTE: Numbers matter! FERC, other agencies, politicians and even financial analysts look at intervenor counts to gauge opposition to a project.
