On February 21, 2019, FERC took “a new approach” to its approval of pending FERC-jurisdictional liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) projects by calculating the direct greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions from the operation of the project facilities and comparing those emissions to the national level.  FERC’s approach was a step toward ultimately approving a proposed LNG project that was previously pulled from FERC’s December 2018 open meeting.  Notwithstanding FERC’s approval, Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur reiterated her concern that while FERC’s disclosure of national comparison data is only the first step, “the Commission has not identified a framework for making a significance determination” based on GHG emissions.  Meanwhile, Commissioner Richard Glick dissented, arguing that FERC’s GHG analysis fails to meet the requirements of both the Natural Gas Act (“NGA”) and the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), both of which require that FERC consider climate change implications in some manner.  Separately, FERC approved two smaller gas pipeline projects, with Commissioner LaFleur issuing separate concurrences, and Commissioner Glick issuing separate dissents, in each.   

On February 21, 2019, FERC issued a final rule (“Order No. 855”) amending Part 33 of its regulations to establish that FERC authorization for mergers or consolidations of a public utility’s jurisdictional facilities is only required when such transactions exceed a $10 million threshold.  Order No. 855 also establishes that public utilities are not required to secure FERC authorization for mergers and acquisitions that are valued between $1 million and $10 million – instead they are only required to submit a notification filing.  Order No. 855 will become effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

On February 21, 2019, FERC issued an order (“Order No. 845-A”) granting in part and denying in part various requests for rehearing and clarification of its determinations in Order No. 845.  In Order No. 845, FERC revised its interconnection rules for large generators, i.e., generators with capacities greater than 20 MW.  Although the requests for rehearing asked FERC to reconsider all but one of the Order No. 845 reforms, Order No. 845-A effectively leaves the major reforms intact, and focuses in large part on explaining FERC’s intentions as to how the new rules should work.  Compliance filings in response to both Order Nos. 845 and 845-A are due May 22, 2019.

On February 21, 2019, FERC issued a Final Rule, Order No. 856, amending its regulations related to interlocking officers and directors in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) issued on July 18, 2018 to revise Parts 45 and 46 of its regulations (see July 24, 2018 edition of the WER).

On February 19, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) issued an unpublished opinion in Appalachian Voices v. FERC, No. 17-1271, denying petitions for review filed by Appalachian Voices, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and the Sierra Club, among others (“Petitioners”), that challenged FERC’s issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity (“certificate”) for the 300-mile natural gas Mountain Valley Pipeline extending from Wetzel County, West Virginia to Pittsylvania County, Virginia. The D.C. Circuit’s order rejected all sixteen of the Petitioners’ challenges to FERC’s approval of the certificate, and notably concluded that: (1) market need for the project was demonstrated by long-term precedent agreements, even though the agreements were with affiliates, and (2) FERC’s estimate of emissions resulting from the end-use combustion of natural gas and explanation why the Social Cost of Carbon is not an appropriate measure of project-level climate change impacts were all that was required by the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”).

On February 22, 2019, FERC issued a final rule (“Order No. 857”) conforming FERC’s regulations to the America’s Water Infrastructure Act (“AWIA”), which amended sections of the Federal Power Act (“FPA”) pertaining to preliminary permits, qualifying conduit hydropower facilities, and start for payment of annual charges. 

On February 14, 2019, FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee testified alongside officials from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the Department of Energy (“DOE”), the National Guard, and an engineering firm at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (“Committee”) to consider cybersecurity efforts in the energy industry.  In response to Senators’ questions about whether the natural gas industry should be subject to mandatory cyber security standards, a position the Chairman laid out in a June 2018 op-ed written with fellow FERC Commissioner Richard Glick, Chairman Chatterjee acknowledged that natural gas pipelines remain vulnerable to cyber-attacks and that it is imperative to continue work to address these threats.  He made clear, however, that industry and government have made significant strides toward addressing the issue even without mandatory cybersecurity standards.  Chairman Chatterjee assured the Committee that FERC is dedicated to protecting the energy sector from cyber threats and is ready to work with Congress and other agencies to bolster the nation’s cybersecurity posture.

On February 8, 2019, FERC approved nine revisions to the New York Independent System Operator, Inc. (“NYISO”) Tariff addressing its Public Policy Transmission Planning Process.  While the changes mainly provide additional process and transparency to NYISO’s existing procedures, NYISO also removed the requirement that the New York Public Service Commission (“New York Commission”) issue an order confirming the transmission need before NYISO can move forward with its planning process.

On February 11, 2019, a group of seventeen Democrat United States Senators and Senator Bernie Sanders wrote a letter (the “2019 Letter”) to FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee urging FERC to adopt a rule requiring Regional Transmission Organizations (“RTOs”) and Independent System Operators (“ISOs”) to open their markets to participation of aggregated distributed energy resources (“DERs”).

On February 5, 2019, a copy of a December 13, 2018 policy directive memorandum from the U.S. Department of the Army’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Works to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“USACE”) Chief of Engineers was released.  Notably, the memorandum directs the USACE to adhere to a “default time period” of 60 days for states to act on a request for water quality certification under Clean Water Act (“CWA”) Section 401 with regard to USACE’s issuance of dredge and fill permits under CWA Section 404.  The policy memorandum also requires USACE to “immediately draft guidance” to establish criteria for USACE District Engineers to identify circumstances that may warrant additional time for states to decide on an application for water quality certification.