A local lawmaker wants to try to ensure people affected by natural gas pipelines can have their say - and that the federal agency responsible for approving pipeline projects is listening to them.

U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, has joined legislators from New Hampshire in asking the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Energy for information about how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission handles the interstate natural gas pipeline approval process.They want to know whether the agency complies with its mandate to ensure all natural gas infrastructure projects are in the public's best interest, and whether parties affected by the pipeline receive enough information and have sufficient opportunity to express concerns.Two projectsThere are two proposed projects in the FERC review stage that will affect local communities.One is Williams Companies' $2.59 billion Atlantic Sunrise expansion of the Transco interstate pipeline, which includes running pipeline from Susquehanna County south through Wyoming, Luzerne, Columbia, Northumberland, Schuylkill and Lebanon counties.The other is PennEast Pipeline Co. LLC's $1 billion line that would start in Dallas Township and run through Luzerne, Carbon, Northampton and Bucks counties, terminating in Mercer County, New Jersey.Both projects are designed to bring natural gas from Marcellus Shale wells in northeastern Pennsylvania to markets along the East Coast.On March 31, Williams filed its application to construct and operate the Atlantic Sunrise project, and has asked FERC to grant the authorizations by April 29, 2016, in order to have the line in service by July 1, 2017.PennEast filed its formal application on Thursday. According to the minutes of a Sept. 10 meeting between the company and FERC, PennEast expects to receive approval by August 2016 and start construction in 2017, "with contingency of continuing into 2018 due to need to survey, finalize state permits, etc."Concern for residentsCartwright's spokesman Shane Seaver said the congressman has been hearing from concerned constituents throughout the 17th district, which includes parts of Carbon, Luzerne, Northampton and Schuylkill counties."We've been getting this from all different angles," Seaver said.On July 15, New Hampshire's U.S. senators, Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and two members of Congress, Ann McLane Kuster, D-N.H., and Frank Guinta R-N.H., sent a letter to Inspector General Gregory H. Friedman of the Department of Energy asking about the interstate natural gas permitting process."We appreciate FERC's important role in the development and expansion of energy infrastructure, including natural gas pipelines; however, we are particularly concerned about the complexity of the permitting process and the extent to which public comment is considered during the application review," they wrote.The legislators noted it is "essential that the commission ensure that its permitting process allow sufficient opportunity for all stakeholders, especially private citizens affected by projects, to express their views and obtain accurate information about any infrastructure development."The legislators said their constituents have expressed frustration at the lack of information from FERC and the limited extent public input is considered in the review and approval process - which, they said, raises "significant concerns" because the pipeline authorization from the agency allows land to be acquired through eminent domain, and pre-empts state and federal law.The pipeline the New Hampshire delegation referenced in their letter is the Northeast Energy Direct project by Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, a subsidiary of Houston, Texas-based Kinder Morgan. It involves creating a pipeline to transport gas from Pennsylvania's northern tier counties, including Bradford and Susquehanna, to New En gland.Cartwright's letterOn Sept. 14, Cartwright wrote a letter of his own to Friedman, also asking for the answers to the New Hampshire delegation's five questions, which are:1. What actions is FERC taking to ensure that it fully complies with its statutory mandate to ensure all interstate natural gas infrastructure projects permitted by the Commission are consistent with public interest?2. Has FERC put in place proper tools and conducted sufficient outreach efforts to ensure that all affected stakeholders have accurate information and instruction on the ways in which they can participate in the interstate natural gas permitting process?3. Does FERC have in place performance measures and controls to provide reasonable assurance that it fully meets its obligations under Executive Order 13604 and other applicable statutes to promote the exchange of information among stakeholders?4. In what way does FERC ensure that the opportunities for public comment currently required in the interstate natural gas permitting process allow for all stakeholders to meaningfully express their concerns about the potential impacts (environmental and otherwise) of a proposed pipeline project?5. In what manner are comments from state and local officials and agencies considered during the permitting process?In addition, Cartwright asked about the Office of Inspector General performing an audit on FERC."The purpose of the letter was to follow up on one the delegation from New Hampshire sent, to see if they (Office of Inspector General) intend to answer those questions," Seaver said.Friedman sent Cartwright a response on Sept. 17. It states that "an audit of the FERC permitting process is in our current work plan and is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2016. The permitting process came to our attention as a result of our normal planning cycle and had been identified as a priority audit before the recent expression of Congressional interest."