Why It Matters
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proposes allowing liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant operators and natural gas companies to carry out certain activities at LNG plants without case-specific federal authorization orders under the Natural Gas Act.
The proposal follows a November 2025 notice of inquiry that drew 18 stakeholder comments. FERC says it is responding to its accumulated experience with LNG engineering, safety, and environmental effects, as well as the United States' emergence as the world's largest LNG exporter. Comments are due Dec. 21.
The Big Picture
The proposal would allow operators of already-approved LNG plants to obtain blanket authorizations for certain modifications and expansions that might otherwise require separate applications and case-specific orders, creating a tiered authorization system. FERC says the proposal would "streamline the review of LNG authorization requests to increase flexibility and reduce regulatory burden through the establishment of an LNG blanket program." The agency also describes it as "a deregulatory action under E.O. 14192 (Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation)." FERC Chairman Laura V. Swett said the proposal would help build and maintain energy infrastructure while retaining safeguards and that consumers benefit from dependable and affordable energy infrastructure.
The proposed program is modeled on the Section 7 pipeline blanket certificate program established in 1982 under Order No. 234 but differs in three respects: It covers LNG plants under both Sections 3 and 7 of the Natural Gas Act, imposes no project cost limits, and adds LNG-specific compliance conditions. FERC estimates the proposal would save respondents 9,988 hours of administrative effort, valued at $1,018,776, using an average hourly rate of $102.
The proposal creates three tiers:
- Automatic authorization: Activities that do not increase authorized capacity, expand the plant's authorized footprint, or push operating parameters outside applicable design limits would qualify for automatic authorization under an approved blanket authorization. Operators would document these activities in semiannual reports and generally notify affected landowners and local municipalities at least 45 days before construction begins, unless the activity involves no ground disturbance, changes to operational air or noise emissions, or adverse safety effects.
- 60-day prior notice: Activities that would increase authorized capacity but remain within the existing footprint and applicable design limits would be subject to a 60-day prior-notice period. An unresolved protest would trigger case-specific review.
- 90-day prior notice: Construction of qualifying new LNG facilities outside the existing footprint, such as liquefaction trains, LNG tanks and marine berths, would be subject to a 90-day prior-notice period with the same protest mechanism. Qualifying expansions outside the existing footprint would be limited to adjacent land, could permanently occupy no more than 25 acres and would have to satisfy additional location, environmental and engineering conditions.
Unlike the pipeline blanket certificate program, the proposed LNG program would not impose dollar-cost thresholds. FERC says project cost is not an appropriate measure of the environmental, safety, or operational effects of LNG activities.
The Law Now and After
Under current regulations, operators modifying already-approved, operating LNG plants may need to file case-specific applications under 18 CFR Parts 153 and 157, followed by FERC review and a public interest determination. The proposal would add a new Subpart E to 18 CFR Part 153, creating Sections 153.101 through 153.109 to establish definitions, application procedures, automatic authorization criteria, prior-notice procedures, and environmental and engineering conditions.
The proposal would also modify 18 CFR § 2.55, which currently allows certain auxiliary installations and facility replacements without case-specific authorization. New paragraphs (d) and (e) would provide that, beginning two years after publication of a final rule, existing LNG blanket authorization holders could no longer rely on Section 2.55 to authorize covered activities at LNG plants. Those activities would instead be governed by the new LNG blanket regulations and applicable engineering conditions. The existing six-month prefiling requirement for LNG terminal modifications would be waived for activities eligible under the blanket program.
The Fight Over the Proposal
Cheniere, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA), Rio Grande LNG and the Center for LNG (CLNG) supported establishing a blanket authorization program with automatic and prior-notice tiers. CLNG also recommended that the program impose no project cost limits.
Earthjustice and attorneys general from nine states, Maryland, Oregon, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont, opposed allowing expansions under a blanket program, arguing that doing so could undermine state and local interests protected by the Natural Gas Act. FERC responded that the proposed program, together with existing authorization procedures and statutory requirements, would continue to account for those interests.
On environmental review, Cheniere, CLNG, and engineering firm CH-IV supported new categorical exclusions for LNG blanket activities, while the states and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network opposed them. FERC does not propose establishing new categorical exclusions. Instead, it directs staff to prepare a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document addressing activities eligible for automatic authorization and the rulemaking itself. Prior-notice projects would undergo case-specific NEPA analysis, including determining whether an existing categorical exclusion applies or an environmental assessment is required.
The Bottom Line
Comments on the proposed rule are due Dec. 21 under Docket No. RM26-2-001. If FERC finalizes the proposal, the transition from the existing Section 2.55 authorization procedures to the new LNG blanket program for covered authorization holders would take effect two years after publication of the final rule.
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