Retained as expert witnesses by Washington State Office of the Attorney General (AGO) in the matter of Lighthouse Resources, Inc., et al. v. Jay Inslee, et al. before the US District Court (West). Prepared written expert testimony Expert Report on Millennium Bulk Terminals-Longview/Lighthouse and the Expert Rebuttal Report on Millennium Bulk Terminals-Longview/Lighthouse. The reports analyze the burden to the US coal industry if the Millennium Bulk Terminals-Longview (Millennium) were not built.
Williams Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE)
Two years before Governor Cuomo’s May 2020 rejection of this controversial pipeline project (to transport shale gas from Pennsylvania to NYC), TGG demonstrated that Williams was substantially overstating employment and other economic benefits of the Project. TGG’s Expert Report on the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Project Economic Impact Analysis for New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, commissioned by the Eastern Environmental Law Center (EELC) in May 2018, evaluates the economic impact study prepared for the proponent by Michael Lahr and Will Irving of Rutgers University.
Muskrat Falls Hydroelectric Project
Appointed by NunatuKavut Community Council (NCC), an Inuit community in Labrador, as external advisor for the Independent Expert Advisory Committee (IEAC) on Muskrat Falls. This large and highly controversial hydroelectric project has been widely opposed by many affected Indigenous residents. The mission of the IEAC was to use science and Indigenous Knowledge to recommend measures to protect the health of the Indigenous and local population from the effects of methylmercury related to Muskrat Falls.
Canadian Federal Environmental and Regulatory Reviews
In 2016-2017, TGG participated in the most significant reform of the Canadian environmental assessment process in a generation. Following the election of the Liberals in 2015, the Canadian government initiated major environmental and regulatory process reviews. The purpose of the reviews was to establish improved rules to better protect the environment, fish and waterways and rebuild public trust. Indigenous engagement and reconciliation were seen as key aspects of the process.
Kalama Manufacturing & Marine Export Facility
In 2017, TGG was retained by Earthjustice to review and provide expert testimony regarding the environmental and economic impacts of Kalama Manufacturing and Marine Export Facility (Kalama). Kalama is a proposed petrochemical refinery in Port of Kalama, Washington, using large quantities of fracked gas to produce methanol. At full capacity, Kalama would be the world’s largest methanol facility. It would produce up to 3.6 million metric tons of methanol per year, for export to China as feedstock for plastic production. This project remains highly controversial due to significant environmental and health risks, and has attracted widespread public opposition in the Pacific Northwest.
Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL)
TGG provided expert testimony on behalf of the Standing Rock Sioux and the Cheyenne River Sioux in the legal proceedings related to the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). Represented by Earthjustice, the Tribes have waged a long-term legal battle to stop the pipeline, in parallel with the historic protests of the pipeline in North Dakota. Since 2016, the Tribes have argued that the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) should deny DAPL permits to cross the Missouri River and undertake a full environmental review. In late 2016, the Obama administration supported the Tribes’ position, and USACE committed to a full environmental review. Days after his inauguration in January 2017, US President Donald Trump signed an executive memorandum to grant the final permits and expedite the construction process.
Valero Crude by Rail Project, Benicia, California
TGG was retained by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in 2013 to provide an expert report on a proposed crude-by-rail (CBR) terminal project at a Valero refinery in Benicia, California. In July 2013, TGG filed Comments on Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) Valero Crude by Rail Project Benicia, California with the City of Benicia. In our report, TGG provided a market analysis of the project. The report was included as an attachment to NRDC's Comments on Notice of Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Valero Crude by Rail Project, filed with the City of Benicia on July 1, 2013.
Tesoro Savage Vancouver Energy Distribution Terminal
In January 2018, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee rejected the Vancouver Energy Distribution Terminal (VEDT), the largest proposed crude-by-rail terminal in the US – and the largest proposed oil terminal on the West Coast. In response to the Governor’s decision, Tesoro Savage (the project applicant) terminated all development activities and cancelled the project in February 2018.
PennEast Pipeline Project
In 2015, the New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF) commissioned TGG to evaluate the economic impacts of the PennEast Pipeline. TGG’s Expert Report on the PennEast Pipeline Project Economic Impact Analysis for New Jersey and Pennsylvania evaluated the economic impact study (PennEast Pipeline Project Economic Impact Report and Analysis) prepared for the PennEast Pipeline Company.
Trans Mountain Expansion Project
Background: The Trans Mountain Expansion Project has been one of the most controversial crude oil pipeline projects in Canadian history. Since 2013, it has been the target of numerous legal challenges, intense public protests and two major regulatory reviews at Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB). In 2013, Kinder Morgan filed an application with the NEB to expand the capacity of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline, which transports up to 300,000 barrels per day from Alberta through British Columbia (BC) and Washington State to refineries and ports on the West Coast. The C$7.4 billion expansion (estimated at C$12.6 billion in late 2020) would more than triple the capacity of the existing pipeline (to 890,000 barrels per day). The increased capacity would be provided by a second line, roughly parallel to the existing pipeline. This second line would be largely used to transport more tar sands dilbit for export markets (US West Coast and Asia).
Keystone XL Pipeline for South Dakota
The Rosebud Sioux Tribe (RST) of South Dakota retained TGG in 2015 to provide expert testimony in the Keystone XL (KXL) permit recertification case before the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (PUC). TGG’s written expert testimony, Changes to the Economic Costs and Benefits of the Keystone XL Pipeline for South Dakota, was filed on behalf of the RST in April 2015 (and withdrawn in July 2015).
Colorado Roadless Coal Exception
For over 30 years, TGG has prepared numerous studies evaluating Environmental Impact Statements and Environmental Assessments for energy-related activities. In May 2015, TGG released an expert report entitled Comments on Scoping Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) Rulemaking for Colorado Roadless Coal Exception #46470. TGG’s Comments were presented to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service on behalf of the Sierra Club.
Oil and Gas Well Stimulation Treatments in California
Background: In 2015, TGG was retained by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), on behalf of a coalition of environmental groups (NRDC, Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), Sierra Club, Los Angeles Waterkeeper) (“the Coalition”). The Coalition was concerned about the environmental and health impacts of oil production in California using newer well stimulation technologies (including fracking). Well stimulation treatment (WST) refers to processes to increase the production of a well by stimulating the flow of oil and/or gas.
Enbridge’s Line 9B Reversal and Line 9 Capacity Expansion Project
In 2013, TGG was retained by a coalition of Quebec- and Ontario-based environmental groups (the Équiterre Coalition) to provide expert testimony related to a controversial crude oil pipeline: Enbridge’s Line 9B Reversal and Line 9 Capacity Expansion (300,000 barrels per day at full capacity). The project would transport a mix of tar sands dilbit and synthetic crude oil (SCO), Bakken, and conventional Western Canadian crudes through Ontario and Quebec, crossing major waterways and Canada's most populous urban areas (including Toronto and Montreal). TGG filed written expert testimony entitled, The Relative Economic Costs and Benefits of Enbridge's Line 9B Reversal and Line 9 Capacity Expansion Project in August 2013 at Canada's National Energy Board (NEB) on behalf of the Équiterre Coalition.
Keystone XL Market Analysis
TGG and KXL: On January 20, 2021, President Biden issued an Inauguration Day executive order to rescind the construction permit for the Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline. Since KXL was first proposed by TransCanada in 2008, the pipeline has been the subject of a long and divisive public debate. This debate and the accompanying media coverage have been characterized by significant misunderstanding and misinformation concerning the pipeline’s environmental and economic impacts. During the Obama Presidency, the pipeline underwent an extensive federal review process by the State Department over a seven-year period. TGG released several highly influential expert reports, notably Pipe Dreams and the Keystone XL Market Analysis, described here. Our reports demonstrated to the Obama Administration and the media that the economic benefits of KXL have been greatly exaggerated by the proponents while the environmental costs have been understated. See Project Pages for Keystone XL in South Dakota and Keystone XL Job Study for more information about TGG’s work on KXL.