FERC chair seeks consensus on new pipeline policy

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will try to find a way to move forward with a stalled update to a decades-old policy for permitting natural gas infrastructure, the agency's new acting chairman said.

FERC needs to move forward with a pipeline policy "that has stakeholder buy-in," that is sustainable and that will allow for the approval of projects needed for the reliability of the natural gas delivery system, chairman Willie Phillips said. President Joe Biden named Phillips as acting chairman on 3 January, making him the first Black chairman to lead the agency.

"I think it is important to have durable policies come out, so I am focused on working with our colleagues to build consensus," Phillips said after his first FERC meeting serving as acting chairman.

FERC last updated its permitting policy in 1999, a decade before the shale boom fueled a massive buildout of gas infrastructure and a corresponding blowback from landowners and environmentalists. The agency first started reconsidering the policy in 2018, under a Republican chairman, but the measure stalled.

FERC's former chairman Richard Glick tried to update the agency's pipeline policy a year ago to put a greater focus on scrutinizing the climate effects of gas infrastructure, and later voted to put the change on hold in response to gas sector criticism. But the policy strained his standing with US senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), who declined to hold a hearing on his nomination to a new term.

Phillips has yet to say what type of pipeline policy he wants FERC to adopt. But he said a focus on reliability and environmental justice would guide his approach to all issues at the agency. And he indicated that he was prepared to move forward with changes to the pipeline policy, even if FERC is not operating with its full complement of five commissioners.

"As a global matter, we're not waiting on anything," Phillips said. "We're moving forward, the commission will not sit on our hands on any important matters that need to move forward."

FERC is currently split between two Democrats and two Republicans, creating the possibility for deadlocked votes on major orders. Biden has yet to nominate anyone to fill the open seat at the agency, meaning the 2-2 split is likely to continue for at least a few months.

FERC often votes unanimously on orders but is struggling to find consensus on "very hard orders," Democratic commissioner Allison Clements said. Phillips said he has a track record throughout the career of building consensus, and he expects that to continue while leading FERC. Those efforts so far have had some success.

"Mark your calendars," Republican commissioner James Danly said, "I do not have a single dissent today."

By Chris Knight