On September 15, 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) issued an order in which it concluded that delays by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC or the Department) in processing Millennium Pipeline Company’s application for Clean Water Act (CWA) water quality certification constituted a waiver of the certification requirement.
Continue Reading FERC: Water Quality Certification Waiver Period for Pipeline Projects Begins Upon Receipt of a Written Request for Certification

Recently proposed legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives would require FERC to revise its review process for proposed natural gas pipeline expansion projects to include additional analysis of cumulative impacts in a single region or State and extended environmental monitoring.  While this bill is unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-controlled House, it is indicative of an ongoing debate about the need for and environmental impacts of new pipeline construction, and the role of both federal and state regulators in reviewing and approving such projects—a debate that has attracted national attention in the wake of the Obama administration’s rejection of the Keystone XL project in late 2015.
Continue Reading House Bill Reflects Ongoing Resistance to New Pipeline Construction

FERC recently published a revised draft Guidance Manual for Environmental Report Preparation for review and public comment. The revised Guidance Manual updates FERC’s 2002 guidance manual on environmental report preparation for projects seeking FERC authorization under the Natural Gas Act (NGA), supplementing the previous guidance as well as adding new sections explaining requirements for environmental report preparation.
Continue Reading Draft Revisions to FERC Environmental Report Manual Available for Comment

Effective October 1, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will allow interstate natural gas pipelines to seek to recover certain capital expenditures involving changes to pipeline system infrastructure that enhance system reliability, safety and regulatory compliance.
Continue Reading FERC Implements New Cost Recovery Policy for Gas Facility Modifications

In light of anticipated increases in operator compliance costs associated with PHMSA safety initiatives, FERC is issuing a Proposed Policy Statement for public comment that would allow interstate natural gas pipelines to use cost recovery mechanisms, such as surcharges or cost trackers, to recoup expenditures related to improved safety, reliability, and regulatory compliance.
Continue Reading Anticipated Increases in Pipeline Regulatory Compliance Costs Prompt FERC Proposed Policy

Recent legislative and regulatory developments at the federal and state levels signal lawmakers’ increased attention to issues related to the abandonment of oil and gas pipelines.  The U.S. House of Representatives is currently considering a bill, proposed earlier this year in the wake of a release of crude oil in the streets of a Los Angeles suburb from an out-of-service pipeline. The bill would amend the federal Pipeline Safety Act to require inspections of pipelines to confirm their status each time they are listed as abandoned or transferred as part of a sale.  Just after this bill was introduced in the House, the State of Louisiana passed a law requiring approval from the State Public Service Commission for the abandonment of portions of interstate natural gas pipelines entirely within the State, allowing the Commission to deny such approval if abandonment would cause gas supply inadequacies.  Other states, such as North Dakota, have also recently passed legislation concerning proper procedures for pipeline abandonment.  These developments reflect the range of issues associated with pipeline abandonment, from public safety to energy supply reliability.
Continue Reading Pipeline Abandonment: Safety and Supply Concerns at the Heart of Recent Developments

In a decision that may affect how impacts of related pipeline construction projects are analyzed, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals recently remanded an environmental assessment (EA) prepared by FERC under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Continue Reading FERC EA Fails to Consider Impacts from Related Pipeline Construction Projects

In the wake of an attack last year on an electric substation in California, four U.S. Senators have written a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, urging them to adopt mandatory standards for physical security at electric power facilities.
Continue Reading Lawmakers Urge Mandatory Security Measures to Protect the Power Grid

The changing U.S. energy market continues to have a dramatic effect on the construction and operation of oil and gas pipeline infrastructure. One of the largest new pipeline construction projects in the past several decades – the nearly 1,700 mile Rockies Express gas pipeline between Wyoming and Ohio (REX) – began operation in 2009, with a west to east direction of flow.
Continue Reading Changing U.S. Energy Markets Prompt Increased Pipeline Flow Reversals and Conversions