Attorney General Bonta Joins Multistate Coalition Opposing Federal Proposal to Fast-Track Natural Gas Pipeline Projects

Coalition urges Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to withdraw proposed rule that would weaken environmental review and consumer protections

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a multistate coalition in opposing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) proposed rule to dramatically expand its “blanket certificate” program for natural gas pipelines. The proposed rule would allow pipeline companies to build and expand more and larger natural gas infrastructure projects without the pre-approval review designed to protect communities, ratepayers, and the environment — raising energy costs for consumers and increasing pollution in communities already overburdened by environmental harm. In the comment letter, the coalition argues that FERC's proposed changes would fundamentally alter the blanket certificate program's purpose by sweeping in large-scale, high-cost projects that can significantly affect energy rates, air quality, public health, and the climate.

"At a time when Americans are dealing with skyrocketing energy bills, FERC’s proposed rule would not only increase energy costs and detrimentally impact public health, but it would fast-track numerous significant infrastructure projects without the environmental review or public oversight that federal law requires,” said Attorney General Bonta. “We must continue to uphold a transparent review process that protects communities and ensures that infrastructure decisions are made in the public interest, not rushed through at the public’s expense. We urge FERC to withdraw this proposal immediately.” 

FERC’s blanket certificate program historically allows FERC to pre-approve natural gas projects up to a certain cost limit. It was designed to streamline review for minor, routine maintenance projects with minimal impacts on ratepayers and the environment. The proposal would more than double the cost limits for the blanket certificate program, allowing many more and larger projects to avoid case-by-case review. FERC has jurisdiction over interstate natural gas pipelines, and projects approved under an expanded blanket certificate program on pipelines delivering gas to California would proceed without review of their impacts on the environment, communities, and ratepayers. 

For example, there are five interstate pipelines that deliver out-of-state natural gas to California: Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN) Pipeline, Kern River Pipeline, Transwestern Pipeline, El Paso Pipeline, and Mojave Pipeline. These five pipelines do not enter California but rather terminate upon transferring gas to California’s intrastate pipelines. As such, they would be affected by the proposed rule and would not be subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). 

In the comment letter, the multistate coalition opposes several aspects of FERC’s proposed rule: 

• Increasing cost thresholds for streamlined project approval. FERC proposes increasing the cost cap for automatically approved pipeline projects from $14.5 million to $30 million, more than doubling the cost threshold that allows pipeline companies to build and modify infrastructure without seeking project-specific FERC approval.
• Removing all cost limits for compressor station expansions. FERC proposes eliminating cost caps entirely for expansions of existing compressor stations, even though these facilities are significant sources of air pollution and are disproportionately located in environmental justice communities.
• Automatically authorizing pipeline expansion projects. FERC is considering allowing gas companies to expand pipeline capacity under automatic authorization, with no project-specific review — a change that would be inconsistent with the Natural Gas Act's requirement that the Commission make individual determinations regarding public convenience and necessity.
• Restricting public participation. FERC is also considering limiting public participation, thereby stripping communities of their voice and allowing polluting projects to move forward without considering the environmental and health risks they pose to the people who live nearby. 

Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.