FERC Revises NEPA Procedures to Make Permitting More Efficient
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FERC voted unanimously to revise its regulations on the implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and issued a staff manual outlining the revised procedures.
This effort was directed by President Trump’s Unleashing American Energy executive order 14154 issued on January 20, 2025, which calls for unleashing American energy dominance through efficient permitting.
In response to President Trump’s E.O. 14154, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) rescinded its NEPA implementing regulations, which simplified the burdensome environmental review process and enabled FERC to implement revisions at an unprecedented pace. FERC’s revisions remove all references to the now inoperative CEQ regulations.
“We will continue to ensure our environmental reviews are legally durable so projects stand up in court and get built. Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, our new staff guidance on NEPA will inform all interested parties on our process and should be a useful tool in making the permitting process more efficient and transparent,” said FERC Chairman Mark Christie.
The FERC staff manual provides details on how staff will: assess what actions are subject to NEPA’s procedural requirements and the requisite level of NEPA review; ensure that relevant environmental information is identified and considered early in the process to support informed decision making; conduct coordinated, consistent, predictable and timely environmental reviews, and reduce unnecessary burdens and delays; and implement NEPA’s mandates regarding lead and cooperating agency roles, time limits, and applicant preparations of environmental documents.
The updates to the FERC regulations approved are part of a final rule that becomes effective 45 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Recently FERC also voted unanimously to waive the operation of FERC order 871 and seek its ultimate repeal. Order 871 has been often used as a barrier to rapid natural gas infrastructure construction.
FERC also unanimously voted to raise the amount under which natural gas facility owners do not need to seek a FERC permit for adding or improving their facilities.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates the interstate transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas and regulates the prices of interstate transport of petroleum by pipeline.
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