The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has made
historic changes to its policies for approving the construction of
natural gas pipeline facilities. These changes, which came in the
form of two policy statements released on Feb. 17, 2022, reflect an
enduring priority for FERC Chairman Richard Glick, who has long
pushed for enhanced consideration by the Commission of the effects
of natural gas projects on climate change. (See Holland &
Knight's previous blog post, "FERC Chairman Signals Enhanced Environmental
Review," Oct. 8, 2021.) Indeed, the revised policies mark
the culmination of various Notices of Inquiry that the Commission
has released on this subject during the past several years, with
the most recent issued on Feb. 18, 2021. (See Holland &
Knight's previous blog post, "FERC to Natural Gas Pipeline Industry: What About
Environmental Justice?", Feb. 25, 2021.)
