The Sierra Club has submitted more than 3,000 comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission opposing a proposed expansion of the blanket certificate program. Under the current proposal, FERC would raise the automatic approval cost limit from $14.5 million to $30 million and increase the prior notice cap from $41 million to $86 million. These changes would enable fossil fuel companies to obtain faster approvals for larger natural gas infrastructure projects while potentially bypassing standard environmental reviews and community engagement processes.
The environmental group cited a recent case involving the Transwestern Pipeline Company’s application for a blanket certificate related to the proposed Green Chile Pipeline project near Las Cruces, New Mexico. Sierra Club’s Rio Grande Chapter protested the application, which ultimately led to the project undergoing the standard environmental review process rather than receiving expedited approval. The organization contends that under the expanded blanket certificate thresholds, similar large-scale projects would more easily qualify for automatic approval without comprehensive oversight.
Sierra Club characterized the proposal as part of a broader deregulatory trend at FERC that reduces oversight of fossil fuel infrastructure development. The organization noted that the Commission has also announced plans to discontinue preparing cumulative effects analyses for reviewed projects, further limiting the scope of environmental assessments.
Claire Dorner, Associate Director of Legislative & Administrative Advocacy for Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign, stated that FERC has a responsibility to evaluate whether proposed projects serve the public interest and assess their environmental and public health impacts. The organization called on FERC to reject the expansion proposal and instead pursue regulatory streamlining that supports cleaner and more reliable energy systems.
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