The D.C. Circuit denied a city's second petition to review FERC's order granting a certificate of public convenience and necessity for construction of a natural gas pipeline from Ohio to Michigan. In the city's initial petition, it argued FERC had not adequately justified its reliance on agreements ...
The D.C. Circuit denied environmental groups' petition to review FERC's order approving an extension of a natural gas pipeline into North Carolina. The groups specifically challenged the order's approved return on equity rate and the adequacy of the Commission's EIS, arguing that FERC should not hav...
Proposed oil and gas pipelines have faced a myriad of legal challenges in the past several years. Even where pipeline proponents have prevailed, the cost and delay of protracted litigation has often caused cancellation of pipeline projects. In addition, presidential transitions have led to abrupt reversals of pipeline policies, which courts have often reviewed skeptically.
The Joe Biden Administration has proposed reversing a number of the Donald Trump Administration’s changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations by again requiring federal agencies to evaluate the direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts of projects under environmental review. On April 20, 2022, the first phase of those amendments was finalized, and on April 21, the Environmental Law Institute hosted a panel of experts to explore the changes to NEPA implementation, and how they might impact climate change policy and environmental justice.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed a district court's dismissal of landowners' challenge to FERC's authority to grant pipeline certificates. The landowners asked the district court to declare that Congress' delegation of authority to FERC was unconstitutional and that all past certificates were void, and sou...