Description: Challenge to FERC approvals for liquefied natural gas facilities in Maryland.
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EarthReports, Inc. (dba Patuxent Riverkeeper) v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 07/15/2016 Opinion Download Opinion issued. D.C. Circuit Again Rejected Challenge to FERC Environmental Review of LNG Facility. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) environmental review for the conversion of the Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Maryland from an import terminal to a facility that could both import and export LNG. Citing its June 28 decision in Sierra Club v. FERC, No. 14-1275, which concerned FERC authorizations for an LNG export terminal in Texas, the D.C. Circuit reiterated that FERC was not required to consider the indirect effects, including climate impacts, of increased natural gas exports through facilities authorized by FERC. The D.C. Circuit said that the Department of Energy alone had legal authority to authorize increased export of LNG and that FERC’s actions therefore were not the “legally relevant cause” for such effects. The D.C. Circuit said that while its earlier decision and a companion decision regarding a Louisiana LNG facility did not address emissions from the transport and consumption of exported gas, FERC authorizations were also not the cause of such effects. The D.C. Circuit noted that petitioners remained free to raise these issues in a challenge to the DOE’s authorization for the export of LNG from the Cove Point facility. (In June, a petitioner in this case, Sierra Club, filed a petition for review of DOE’s export authorization (Sierra Club v. Department of Energy, No. 16-1186 (D.C. Cir.).) The D.C. Circuit also found that the petitioners had not supported their argument that FERC’s failure to use the federal social cost of carbon in its analysis of environmental impacts was unreasonable. 06/12/2015 Order Download Order issued. The D.C. Circuit declined to place an emergency stay on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of the Dominion Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Maryland, or to expedite briefing. The court said that the petitioners had not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending court review or articulated strongly compelling reasons for expediting briefing. 05/06/2015 Petition for Review Download Petition for review filed. On May 6, 2015, environmental groups filed a petition for review in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. -
In re Dominion Cove Point LNG, LP
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 06/12/2015 Order Download Motion for stay denied. The D.C. Circuit declined to place an emergency stay on the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission’s approval of the Dominion Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities
in Maryland, or to expedite briefing. The court said that the petitioners had not
satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending court review or articulated
strongly compelling reasons for expediting briefing.05/06/2015 Petition for Review Download Petition for review filed. On May 6, 2015, environmental groups filed a petition for review in the D.C. Circuit
Court of Appeals.05/04/2015 Order Download Request for rehearing denied. On May 4, 2015, FERC denied the requests for rehearing. In denying the rehearing
requests, FERC concluded, among other things, that it was not required to consider the
impacts of production activities in the Marcellus Shale region because they were not
sufficiently causally related to constitute indirect effects of the Cove Point project. FERC
also affirmed its finding “that impacts from additional shale gas development
supported by LNG export projects are not reasonably foreseeable.” FERC also stood by
its consideration of the project’s direct greenhouse gas emissions and said that it was
not required to consider air emissions and climate change impacts of such emissions
from the transportation and ultimate consumption of gas exported from the Cove Point
project. FERC rejected the contention that it had not adequately considered potential
climate change11/11/2014 Motion Download Motion for stay filed. 10/15/2014 Petition for Rehearing Download Request for rehearing filed. On October 15, 2014, environmental groups requested that the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) rehear and rescind its September 29 order authorizing
construction and operation by Dominion Cove Point LNG, LP, of liquefaction and
terminal facilities for the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Cove Point, Maryland,
and associated pipeline facilities to transport natural gas to the LNG terminal facilities.
The environmental groups also asked for a stay of FERC’s order to prevent construction
or land disturbance associated with the authorized actions. The groups claimed that
FERC’s order failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and the
Endangered Species Act. The request for rehearing enumerated a number of alleged
shortcomings in the environmental review, including that FERC had “improperly
discounted the significance of the project’s direct greenhouse gas emissions” and had
“ignored the reasonably foreseeable upstream and downstream greenhouse gas
emissions” that the project would cause.09/29/2014 Order Download Order issued granting Section 3 and Section 7 authorizations.