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The five-member Federal Energy Regulatory Commission moved on Thursday to no longer require an analysis of cumulative impacts, part of the decades-old National Environmental Policy Act. That policy requires an examination of proposed project impact on past, present and potentially future actions ranging from wetlands and air quality to socioeconomic issues.
“We are no longer going to waste valuable time staff and applicant time and money doing an analysis that is not necessary under law,” Chair Laura Swett said during the commission’s meeting.
She said FERC has yet to “fully capitalize” on a 2025 Supreme Court decision Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County. The court ruled federal agencies are not required under NEPA to evaluate environmental impacts of separate or future projects that fall outside their direct jurisdiction.
Swett also cited a move by the White House Council on Environmental Quality to rescind NEPA regulations.
“These are collectively a sea change in federal agencies’ NEPA obligations,” Swett said. “We are working hard at reforms that will streamline gas permitting.”
— With assistance from John Ainger
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