The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's new rules seek to improve the regulatory environment for natural gas infrastructure projects immediately, the agency says. (Source: Shutterstock)
The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced plans to speed up government approval for natural gas infrastructure projects, including a provision that would allow construction work to continue during the legal process, in some cases.
The FERC published its plans in an announcement on its website on June 18.
The agency took two actions.
Under the new orders, the commissioners issued a one-year waiver to the rule that construction on FERC-approved natural gas projects must wait for the commissioners to hear appeals from opponents of the projects.
FERC permits are routinely petitioned for a rehearing, a process that can take months. The agency also issued a notice that it plans to make the waiver part of its permanent policy.
The one-year waiver is to allow the public to comment on the policy.
The waiver refers to Order 871, a policy implemented in May 2021, after the inauguration of President Joe Biden. According to FERC records, the order “precluded construction while the Commission considers requests for rehearing.”
In its other decision, the FERC issued a two-year waiver for the rule governing the amount of paperwork for some projects.
Depending on the cost of a project, the FERC can issue a “blanket certificate” for the construction process. Companies with blanket certificates covering their projects don’t have to notify the government during virtually every step of construction, modification, operation or abandonment.
Blanket certificates also limit the public notification process, cutting opportunities for protests and legal actions, according to FERC records.
The project cost limit to receive a blanket authorization was $41 million. The FERC’s action raised it to $62 million for projects completed within two years. The agency also announced plans to make the waiver permanent, while considering a higher price limit.
“As the demand for electrical power continues to grow, getting more natural gas generation built is critically important and that means we must get natural gas infrastructure to supply that generation built more quickly as well, so that we can provide consumers with reliable power,” FERC Chairman Mark Christie said.
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