Washington, Oregon and California are petitioning the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to retract approval of a natural gas pipeline expansion, citing state climate laws.

Over the objections of Democrats and environmental groups, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday authorized upgrades to a natural gas pipeline that serves Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

The commission’s two Democrats and two Republicans approved a plan by TC Energy to add horsepower to three compressor stations along the 1,377-mile-long pipeline between Kingsgate, British Columbia, and Malin, Ore.

The upgraded system will carry another 150 million cubic feet of natural gas per day from Western Canada to the U.S., according to FERC. The pipeline’s current capacity is 2.7 billion cubic feet.

FERC estimates the additional natural gas will emit 1.9 million tons of greenhouse gases, or less than 2% of Washington’s current emissions.

FERC’s decision runs counter to Washington law requiring all electricity to be generated by non-fossil fuel resources by 2045, Gov. Jay Inslee said.

“Today’s decision by FERC flies in the face of what is morally and economically necessary to protect our communities from the worsening impacts of climate change,” Inslee said in a statement.

The expanded pipeline will help keep energy less costly and more reliable, according TC Energy.

“We appreciate FERC’s bipartisan action today to approve the project and will work diligently to place it into service as soon as possible,” the company said in a statement.

TC Energy applied for FERC approval in 2021 and the proposal became a partisan issue.

Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, all Democrats, said in a joint statement Wednesday the project was a major test of FERC’s resolve to pivot to a “clean energy future.”

Idaho Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch of Idaho were among the Republican lawmakers who wrote letters to FERC urging support for the project.

TC Energy supplies natural gas from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, a region that includes part of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories.

Intermountain Gas Co., Cascade Natural Gas and natural gas producer Tourmaline Oil Marketing have contracted to buy the new supply of natural gas.

Intermountain and Cascade told FERC that because of the delay in approving the project they may have to buy more costly gas from other regions this winter to serve southern Idaho and central Oregon, respectively.

Northwest Gas Association executive director Dan Kirschner said the need for the project was well established. “It was the right decision, and I’m glad they got around to making it,” he said.

The three stations that will be upgraded are in Kootenai County, Idaho; Walla Walla County, Wash.; and Sherman County, Ore. The project will not include installing any new pipeline. At one station, horsepower will be added by updating computer software.