Public hearing?

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is obligated to hold public hearings on Environmental Impact Statements for pipelines.  Tonight FERC held a “public hearing” at Penn’s Peak from 6 to 10 p.m.  Here’s how it worked.

Participants who wanted to make a statement were given numbers.  (I was #9).  You then were called in numerical order to talk to FERC employees sitting at two tables.  The FERC people recorded what you had to say.  You had three minutes to speak.  

The tables were behind black screens.  None of your friends and neighbors could hear what you said.  You could learn nothing from each other or even hear one another’s names.  After you spoke, you went out a door with no readmission.

It was painfully obvious that FERC was using “divide and conquer” tactics as a favor to the PennEast/UGI pipeline company.  FERC is a federal agency that is supposed to be representing the public interest.