Regulatory

  • November 22, 2022

FERC Releases Fiscal Year 2022 Annual Enforcement Report

FERC, Natural Gas Pipelines, Regulatory
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On November 17, 2022, the Staff of the Office of Enforcement (“OE”) of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued its sixteenth  Annual Report on Enforcement (the “Report”).[1] The Report discusses the activities performed by OE’s Division of Investigations (“DOI”), Division of Audits and Accounting (“DAA”), and Division of Analytics and Surveillance (“DAS”).

The Report provides ample reason for all participants in the energy markets regulated by FERC to continue to place an emphasis on compliance and annual reporting.  The increase in investigations, the scope of DAS’s surveillance activities, and the resolution of self-reports without significant further investigation or penalties suggests that FERC continues to prioritize enforcement activities and values a strong culture of compliance by market participants.

FERC’s Strategic Plan and OE’s Priorities

OE’s priorities follow FERC’s March 28, 2022 Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2022-2026 (“Strategic Plan”). The Strategic Plan set forth several of FERC’s principal missions, including: accounting for significant

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  • April 27, 2022

FERC Holds Technical Conference to Consider Financial Assurance for Hydropower Projects

Clean Energy, FERC, Permitting, Regulatory
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On April 26, 2022 FERC held a Commission staff-led technical conference to discuss whether and, if so, how the Commission should require additional financial assurance mechanisms in the licenses and other authorizations it issues for hydroelectric projects.  The purpose of this effort is to ensure that licensees have the capability to carry out license requirements and, particularly, to maintain their projects in safe condition.  The technical conference followed, by over a year, the Commission’s January 26, 2021 notice of inquiry (NOI) seeking comments on potential changes to FERC’s rules relating to financial assurance for hydropower projects.

Background

The genesis of FERC’s January 2021 NOI was FERC’s concern that inadequate financing of hydropower projects may result in threats to public safety and environmental resources, especially for nonoperational projects.  FERC specifically noted recent experiences where a lack of funding for needed dam safety repairs led to several dam failures in 2020.  Therefore, FERC is considering whether to take additional measures to ensure that licensees have the

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  • April 20, 2022

Biden Administration Restores More Stringent Environmental Review under NEPA

Regulatory

On April 20, 2022, The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published its final rule to amend three provisions of its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. The amendments largely are the same as the changes proposed this past fall, and are intended to restore provisions that were in effect for decades before they were modified in 2020 by the Trump administration.

Pierce Atwood attorneys Lisa Gilbreath, Matt Manahan, Randy Rich, and Georgia Bolduc have been tracking and reporting on changes to the NEPA regulations since early 2020 and have just published an alert on the final rule. Please read the full alert on our firm’s website: Biden Administration Restores More Stringent Environmental Review under NEPA.

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  • April 15, 2022

Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes to Reclassify Northern Long-eared Bat as Endangered

Clean Energy, Construction, Permitting, Regulatory, Renewable Energy, Siting, Wind Power
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is proposing to change the classification of the northern long-eared bat (NLEB) from threatened to endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Reclassifying the NLEB will have major implications for development projects throughout the U.S., particularly in wind energy development.

The FWS classifies a species as threatened when the species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future in all or a portion of its range. A species is endangered when it is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

Due to the fungal disease white-nose syndrome, the NLEB has experienced a steep decline in population across its 37-state range, which includes Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. In 2015, the FWS classified the NLEB as threatened due to the decline in population, and issued an ESA Section 4(d) rule allowing an incidental “take” of NLEB subject to certain conditions.

In 2020, under court order, the

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  • March 29, 2022

DER Aggregations in RTO/ISO Markets: An Update on FERC Order No. 2222 Compliance and Implementation

Clean Energy, Energy Storage, FERC, Regulatory, Renewable Energy, Solar Power
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In September of 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) issued Order No. 2222,[1] requiring Regional Transmission Organizations (“RTOs”) and Independent System Operators (“ISOs”) to adopt rules allowing aggregations of distributed energy resources (“DERs”) to participate in the RTO/ISO-administered wholesale electricity markets.  Now, a year-and-a-half later, the compliance process for each RTO and ISO is ongoing, the proposed implementation timelines for the market rules vary widely, and numerous legal and technical challenges remain to be resolved. Below is an overview of the current status of RTO/ISO efforts to implement Order No. 2222, certain related industry activities, and various implementation challenges that have come to the fore through those market design efforts.

Background

FERC issued Order No. 2222 to “remove barriers” to DER aggregations’ participation in RTO/ISO markets, and to help ensure that the RTO/ISO markets produce just and reasonable rates as required by the Federal Power Act.  Under FERC’s definition, DERs are “any resource located on the

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  • March 24, 2022

Update: FERC Commissioners Vote Unanimously to Revise Pipeline Certificate and GHG Emission Policy Statements

Natural Gas Pipelines, Regulatory
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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has reached consensus to revise the two policy statements it issued on February 18, 2022, impacting the permitting and construction of new natural gas pipeline facilities

During the March 24, 2022 FERC open meeting, Chairman Glick explained that the new order will:

  • Change the status of both policy statements to be “draft” policy statements
  • Reopen the comment period for both draft policy statements so that the Commission can re-engage with stakeholders and further develop the record
  • Further develop the record, and revise both policy statements to make them applicable only prospectively to any pipeline certificate applications that are filed subsequent to the issuance of any final versions of the policy statements.

Currently-pending certificate applications will be reviewed pursuant to the Commission’s 1999 Policy Statement  and relevant FERC and judicial precedent.  Although the vote was unanimous, each of the Commissioners indicated that they intend to issue separate statements explaining their

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  • March 15, 2022

Amidst Ongoing Policy Statement Controversy, D.C. Circuit Remands Another FERC Pipeline Order Over GHG Analysis

FERC, Natural Gas Pipelines, Regulatory
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Once again finding the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (“FERC” or “Commission”) environmental assessment (“EA”) analysis of the downstream effect of greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions associated with interstate natural gas pipelines and liquefied natural gas terminals certificated pursuant to the Natural Gas Act (“NGA”) legally insufficient, on March 11, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a remand directing FERC to consider the reasonably foreseeable indirect effects of burning natural gas as the result of a pipeline expansion project.  The court directed FERC to consider such indirect downstream impacts on remand and to prepare a conforming EA, but declined to vacate the FERC’s orders. Food & Water Watch and Berkshire Environmental Action Team v. FERC, No. 20-1132 (Mar. 11, 2022) (“Food & Water Watch”).  Food & Water Watch, authored by Chief Judge Srinivasan and joined by Judges Millett and Katsas, appears to provide further support for some of the reasoning provided by

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  • March 04, 2022

Massachusetts Poised to Reshape Natural Gas Distribution Companies to Address Climate Change

Biogas, Clean Energy, Regulatory
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About one year ago, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities or DPU opened an investigation (D.P.U. 20-80) to examine the appropriate role of gas LDCs in helping to meet the Commonwealth’s 2050 climate goals.  The proceeding sought to identify and evaluate strategies to move to net-zero GHG while simultaneously protecting ratepayer interests.  The potential to “recast” the role of the LDCs was a principal part of the focus.

Consultants were retained by the LDCs and an extensive stakeholder process has been completed.  A material step in the process was to identify and then evaluate the merits of what turned out to be eight “pathways” that each reflected changing roles for LDCs.  A two-volume report – Independent Consultant Report Vol. I and Vol. II – has been released in draft, is being finalized and will ultimately be reviewed by the DPU.  It is clear that the role of the LDCs will evolve substantially.  These “pathways” reflected various ranges of “electrification” and differing roles

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  • March 03, 2022

Contentious Senate Committee Hearing Highlights the Politically-Charged Nature of FERC’s Recent Pipeline Policy Statements

FERC, Natural Gas Pipelines, Regulatory
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The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee held a hearing today to question Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Richard Glick and Commissioners Allison Clements, Mark Christie, James Danly, and Willie Phillips about FERC’s two recent policy statements regarding natural gas certificates.  Those two policy statements, each of which were issued by 3-2 vote with Commissioners Christie and Danly dissenting with separate statements, were issued on February 18, 2022 and are the subject of a separate Pierce Atwood blog post. Members of the Pierce Atwood Energy team watched the livestream video of the Senate hearing, and, in this post, provide some high-level insights based on the Senators’ questions and Commissioners’ responses today.

To no one’s surprise, the hearing was a politically-charged event. With one notable exception, the participating Senators’ response to FERC’s actions was split along party lines, with Democrats generally supporting the policy statements and Republicans criticizing the policy statements with openly expressed dismay and frustration.  The FERC Commissioners’

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  • February 21, 2022

FERC Issues Two Controversial Policy Statements on Natural Gas Infrastructure

FERC, Natural Gas Pipelines, Regulatory
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On February 18, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) issued two controversial policy statements that will significantly impact the permitting and construction of new natural gas pipeline facilities.  The policy statements were each approved by a 3-2 majority with Commissioners Danly and Christie issuing separate dissents.

The Updated Policy Statement on Certification of New Interstate Natural Gas Facilities (“Updated Policy Statement”) revises FERC’s 1999 Certificate Policy Statement to give environmental analysis and policy, including environmental justice, a greater role in determining whether FERC should approve new natural gas transportation facilities as consistent with the “public convenience and necessity” under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act (“NGA”).  A companion Interim Policy Statement on the Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Natural Gas Infrastructure Project Reviews (“GHG Policy Statement”) seeks to explain how FERC will assess the impacts of natural gas infrastructure projects on climate change in its reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) and the NGA.

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