On March 23, 2017, a group of environmental advocates including
the Allegheny Defense Project, Clean Air Council, and Sierra Club
("Environmental Petitioners") filed a petition in the
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
("D.C. Circuit") to review a FERC order issuing a
certificate for a pipeline proposed by Transcontinental Gas Pipe
Line Company ("Order Issuing Certificate"), despite FERC
Staff having issued an order granting rehearing for further
consideration ("Tolling Order")—a mechanism
frequently used by FERC to allow it more time to act on a request
for rehearing beyond the 30 days it is statutorily allowed.
FERC issued the Order Issuing Certificate prior to losing the
three-commissioner quorum required to make determinations at the
agency level (see February 21, 2017 edition of
the
WER). Subsequently, the Environmental Petitioners
requested rehearing of the Order Issuing Certificate. Under the
federal Natural Gas Act, FERC is
