FERC Blanket Certificate Program (Natural Gas Pipelines)
Current understanding
FERC’s blanket certificate program under the Natural Gas Act authorizes interstate pipelines to construct, replace, or abandon certain facilities without seeking case-specific certificate orders, subject to per-project and annual cost limits and environmental conditions. FERC has proposed to expand the scope, scale, and cost thresholds of eligible projects, which would allow more pipeline construction to proceed under the streamlined authorization pathway. Practical effects — on permitting timelines, landowner notice, environmental review depth, and pipeline buildout costs — will depend on the final thresholds and conditions adopted; currently at the proposed-rule stage.
Evidence log
- 2023-03-21 — Energy Freedom Act: cross-connection with blm-oil-gas-leasing-regulations: Energy Freedom Act ties together onshore federal oil and gas leasing floors with expedited natural gas pipeline permitting, linking BLM leasing policy to FERC’s pipeline certificate pathway in a single legislative package. (novelty: 2)
- 2026-05-27 — Revisions to the Blanket Certificate Program: cross-connection with nepa-implementing-procedures: Blanket certificates function as a pre-authorization pathway that limits case-specific NEPA review for qualifying pipeline projects; expanding thresholds shifts more projects out of individual environmental review. (novelty: 2)