LNG Practice
Issue Alerts
FERC Issues Final Rule Revising Blanket Certificate Regulations
Shippen Howe, Celia MartellinoOctober 23, 2007
FERC issued a final rule amending its blanket certificate construction regulations with respect to landowner notification requirements and noise surveys for the construction of natural gas compressor units or liquefied natural gas facilities.
FERC Issues Order on Rehearing Clarifying Revisions to Blanket Certificate Authority
John Burnes, Bob ChristinJune 27, 2007
On June 22, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an order granting in part, and denying in part, requests for rehearing and clarification of its Final Rule expanding the scope of activities authorized under its blanket certificate regulations.
U.S. District Court Upholds State Authority Under Coastal Zone Management Act to Block Siting of LNG Terminals
John Burnes, Janna ChesnoJune 26, 2007
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland upheld a Baltimore County Council zoning amendment prohibiting the siting of liquefied natural gas facilities in previously designated Chesapeake Bay “Critical Areas” in Baltimore County.
U.S. District Court Finds Local Zoning Law Preempted by FERC’s Exclusive LNG Terminal Siting Authority under the Natural Gas Act
John Burnes, Julie RichardsonJanuary 26, 2007
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland determined that a zoning law promulgated by the Baltimore County Council to regulate the siting of an LNG import terminal was preempted under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution by the Natural Gas Act, as amended by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), which gave the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission “exclusive authority” over the siting construction, expansion and operation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals. (AES Sparrows Point LNG, LLC v. Smith, et al., CA No. RDB-06-2478).
Second Circuit Sustains New Provision for Direct Review by Federal Appeals Courts Relating to Permits for LNG Facilities and Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines
Jon Simon, Howard ShapiroOctober 20, 2006
In a precedent-setting case of first impression, the Second Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, has sustained and applied new section 19(d) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA), added to the NGA by section 313 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Section 19(d) provides applicants for authorizations from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, under section 3 of the NGA or under section 7, with direct review in a federal court of appeals of state permitting decisions issued pursuant to federal law requiring a permit for such projects.
Articles
LNG: FERC Asserts Control
CPUC Questioned Historic Oversight AuthorityJohn Burnes, Julie Richardson
Public Utilities Fortnightly
June 1, 2004
To guarantee the continued growth of liquefied natural gas (LNG) importation and use in the United States, the energy industry needs to pay close attention to govern the regulation, siting, and operation of LNG import terminals—issues traditionally overseen by the federal government. States may have a number of reasons for wanting to establish oversight authority over LNG import terminals, but these efforts, no matter how well intentioned, would have the impact of curtailing the development of LNG facilities at a time when the United States is in urgent need of new sources of natural gas.