SELC, partners file challenge against FERC’s unlawful, blanket suspension of own construction regulation 

WASHINGTON – A coalition of public interest groups, landowners, and fishermen filed a challenge to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ‘waiver order’ that allows FERC to avoid its own regulations for construction of pipelines and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) facilities.  

The Southern Environmental Law Center filed the challenge alongside NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), Sierra Club – and 30 in total public interest and community organizations throughout the country, and six impacted landowners and fishermen. 

Last month, FERC issued an order that immediately suspended its own regulations known as Order No. 871 for a year, while it considers suspending the regulation permanently. That regulation, finalized in 2021 after several rounds of inquiry and public engagement (including the solicitation and filing of briefs), provides basic protections to communities and landowners by temporarily pausing the authorization or ‘green light’ of construction of methane gas pipelines or LNG export facilities until the Commission completes its agency review of a pending challenge.  

SELC, NRDC, and partner groups and individuals have filed a request for rehearing challenging the unlawfulness of the order suspending 871. 

“This FERC Order suspends its own regulation by relying on the so-called ‘energy emergency’ as a baseless excuse to allow gas companies to skirt regulations and build harmful, unnecessary fossil fuel infrastructure on the backs of ratepayers, causing irreversible land, community, and environmental impacts,” SELC Senior Attorney Megan Gibson said.  

“We are calling on FERC to immediately rescind this unlawful order and preserve the underlying regulation that offers basic, incredibly narrow protections to communities in these proceedings.”  

“These bipartisan policies were issued to prevent gas companies from recklessly seizing land or beginning construction before communities could challenge a FERC approval. By suspending these protections without public comment, FERC irreparably harms communities and undermines its integrity by selling out to the fossil fuel industry,” said Gillian Giannetti, NRDC Senior Attorney and Director of Fossil Strategy. 

“FERC is attempting to jettison the very modest safeguards it previously adopted to help protect the environment and landowners from unnecessary harm caused by constructing gas pipelines and LNG export terminals,” said Sierra Club Senior Attorney Elly Benson. 

“Local ecosystems, landowners, and the health and safety of communities will suffer if this unlawful suspension remains in place. FERC is an independent agency tasked with protecting the public interest, and it should start acting as such rather than serving as a rubberstamp for polluters.”