Removal of Regulations Limiting Authorizations To Proceed With Construction Activities Pending Rehearing

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY <SUBAGY>Federal Energy Regulatory Commission</SUBAGY> <CFR>18 CFR Parts 153 and 157</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. RM25-9-000]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Removal of Regulations Limiting Authorizations To Proceed With Construction Activities Pending Rehearing</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) removes from its regulations a rule that precludes the issuance of authorizations to proceed with construction activities with respect to natural gas facilities approved pursuant to section 3 or section 7 of the Natural Gas Act for a limited time while certain requests for rehearing are pending before the Commission. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This rule is effective November 10, 2025. </EFFDATE> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Indigo Brown, Office of the General Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426, Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8505, <E T="03">indigo.brown@ferc.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> 1. Section 157.23 of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (Commission) regulations provides that, with respect to orders issued pursuant to sections 3 and 7(c) of the NGA  <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> authorizing the construction of new natural gas transportation, export, or import facilities, no authorization to proceed with construction activities will be issued during the periods specified therein. In this final rule, the Commission amends its regulations to remove § 157.23 and modify § 153.4 to remove the reference to § 157.23. This action will advance the Commission's principal statutory mission under the Natural Gas Act “to encourage the orderly development of plentiful supplies of . . . natural gas at reasonable prices.”  <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  15 U.S.C. 717b; 15 U.S.C. 717f(c). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">See Citizens Action Coal. of Ind., Inc.</E> v. <E T="03">FERC,</E> 125 F.4th 229, 244 (D.C. Cir. 2025) (quoting <E T="03">NAACP</E> v. <E T="03">FPC,</E> 425 U.S. 662, 669-70 (1976)). </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Background</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Order No. 871</HD> 2. On June 9, 2020, the Commission in Order No. 871  <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> issued a final rule amending its regulations to add 18 CFR 157.23, precluding the issuance of authorizations to proceed with construction of projects authorized under sections 3 and 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) during the period for filing requests for rehearing of initial orders, or while rehearing is pending. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> Order No. 871 also revised § 153.4 of the Commission's regulations, which sets forth general requirements for NGA section 3 applications, to incorporate a cross-reference to § 157.23. The Commission issued Order No. 871 to address concerns raised in the then-pending appeal <E T="03">Allegheny Defense Project</E> v. <E T="03">FERC</E>   <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit). <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">Limiting Authorizations to Proceed with Construction Activities Pending Rehearing,</E> Order No. 871, 171 FERC ¶ 61,201 (2020) (Order No. 871), <E T="03">order on reh'g,</E> Order No. 871-A, 174 FERC ¶ 61,050, <E T="03">order on reh'g,</E> Order No. 871-B, 175 FERC ¶ 61,098, <E T="03">order on reh'g,</E> Order No. 871-C, 176 FERC ¶ 61,062 (2021). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>  Under NGA section 3(e), the Commission is authorized to grant or deny applications to site, construct, expand, or operate liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. Under NGA section 7(c), the Commission is authorized to issue certificates of public convenience and necessity for the construction of interstate natural gas transportation facilities. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>  932 F.3d 940 (D.C. Cir. 2019), and <E T="03">on reh'g en banc,</E> 964 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2020) ( <E T="03">Allegheny</E> ). </FTNT> 3. Following the issuance of <E T="03">Allegheny,</E> in response to requests for clarification and rehearing of Order No. 871, the Commission in Order No. 871-A provided interested parties an opportunity to file initial and reply briefs on the arguments raised on rehearing and specific questions posed by the Commission. <SU>6</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>  Order No. 871-A, 174 FERC ¶ 61,050. </FTNT> 4. After review of the briefs filed, the Commission in Order No. 871-B revised § 157.23 to provide that the rule prohibiting the issuance of construction authorizations pending rehearing would apply only when a request for rehearing raised issues reflecting opposition to project construction, operation, or need. <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> Order No. 871-B also revised § 157.23 to provide that the rule's restriction on issuing construction authorizations would expire, if no qualifying request or rehearing was filed or, if such a request was filed, when (1) the request was no longer pending ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> it had been withdrawn or the Commission had acted on it), (2) the record of the proceeding was filed with the court of appeals, or (3) 90 days had passed from the date that the request might be deemed denied by operation of law under NGA section 19(a). <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> Finally, Order No. 871-B adopted a policy of presumptively staying, on a case-by-case basis where a pipeline developer has not already acquired all necessary property interests and where a landowner who would be subject to eminent domain proceedings protested, <SU>9</SU> <FTREF/> an NGA section 7(c) certificate order during the 30-day period for seeking rehearing, and pending Commission resolution of any timely requests for rehearing filed by a landowner, until the earlier of the date on which the Commission (1) issues a substantive order on rehearing or otherwise indicates that the Commission will not take further action, or (2) 90 days following the date that a request for rehearing may be deemed to have been denied under NGA section 19(a). <SU>10</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>  Order No. 871-B, 175 FERC ¶ 61,098 at PP 14, 30. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>8</SU>   <E T="03">Id.</E> PP 26, 30. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>9</SU>  Order No. 871-C, 176 FERC ¶ 61,062 at P 41 (clarifying that the stay policy applies to landowners subject to eminent domain). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>10</SU>  Order No. 871-B, 175 FERC ¶ 61,098 at PP 43-51 (noting at P 51 that the new policy is only presumptive and that the question of whether to impose a stay will be decided on the circumstances presented in each particular certificate proceeding). </FTNT> 5. In Order No. 871-C, the Commission addressed requests for rehearing and clarification of Order No. 871-B. <SU>11</SU> <FTREF/> The Commission modified the discussion but did not change the outcome of Order No. 871-B. <SU>12</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>11</SU>  Order No. 871-C, 176 FERC ¶ 61,062. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>12</SU>  The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) and others filed and later withdrew petitions for review of the Order No. 871 rulemaking. </FTNT> 6. On January 20, 2025, the President issued Executive Order 14154, seeking to eliminate delays in and streamline the permitting process for energy infrastructure projects, and noting that it is “in the national interest to unleash America's affordable and reliable energy and natural resources.”  <SU>13</SU> <FTREF/> On the same date, the President issued Executive Order 14156, which declares a national energy emergency and prioritizes the expansion of energy infrastructure as a matter of critical national and economic security. <SU>14</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>13</SU>  Exec. Order No. 14,154, 90 FR 8353 (Jan. 20, 2025). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>14</SU>  Exec. Order No. 14,156, 90 FR 8433 (Jan. 20, 2025). </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD2">B. INGAA Petition</HD> 7. On April 14, 2025, INGAA filed a petition for rulemaking requesting that the Commission adopt a rule rescinding Order No. 871, removing § 157.23 from the regulations, and amending § 153.4, which relates to applications to authorize liquefied natural gas facilities under NGA section 3, to remove the reference to § 157.23. <SU>15</SU> <FTREF/> In its petition, INGAA argues that the stakeholder protections afforded by the D.C. Circuit's decision in <E T="03">Allegheny</E> rendered the regulations promulgated under Order No. 871 unnecessary. <SU>16</SU> <FTREF/> Specifically, INGAA maintains that <E T="03">Allegheny'</E> protects stakeholders from the possibility that project construction may proceed before the completion of the Commission's review because that decision allows parties to “seek and receive a judicial stay of a certificate [or authorization] order as soon as 30 days after a request for rehearing” has been filed. <SU>18</SU> <FTREF/> INGAA contends that the current Order No. 871 framework assumes that the Commission erred in authorizing a project. <SU>19</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>15</SU>  INGAA Petition for Rulemaking (Petition) at 18. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>16</SU>   <E T="03">Id.</E> at 7. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>17</SU>   <E T="03">Allegheny,</E> 964 F.3d 1, 13-17 (holding that parties that have filed a rehearing request may file a petition for judicial review of the underlying order immediately after rehearing is deemed denied). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>18</SU>  INGAA Petition at 7-8. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>19</SU>   <E T="03">Id.</E> at 8. </FTNT> 8. Additionally, INGAA notes that when creating project schedules, project developers must work with contrac ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 67k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━