Stop the Blanket Certificate Program Revisions

Tell the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC): Don’t let gas pipeline companies have a fast-track to build bigger, more expensive, and more dangerous projects.

Sign the petition today.

Dear Commissioners, 

On May 21, 2026, FERC proposed the most sweeping rewrite of its natural gas pipeline permitting rules in twenty years. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, “Revisions to the Blanket Certificate Program” would let pipelines build far larger, more expensive projects without going through a case-specific review under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act.

FERC's "blanket certificate" program already allows pipeline companies to self-authorize routine, low-cost construction with minimal oversight. This rule would double the dollar thresholds that qualify a project for that fast track, with industry groups like the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) pushing for limits as high as $82.2 million for a single project to skip full review entirely. Projects approved this way are categorically excluded from environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); that would mean no environmental assessment and no environmental impact statement. 

This proposal didn't come out of nowhere. INGAA petitioned FERC in 2025 for emergency waivers, and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior personally endorsed the industry's request, citing a "national energy emergency." FERC already granted a temporary waiver raising the prior-notice cost cap from $41.1 million to $61.65 million, which was just extended through May 2028. Now the Commission wants to make that expansion permanent, and go further, while communities and environmental advocates who raised concerns were vastly outnumbered by pipeline companies and trade associations in the public comment process. 

Communities near proposed compressor stations and pipeline expansions deserve a real say before construction starts. What these companies are getting is a paperwork exemption designed to move gas infrastructure faster than the public can respond. Landowners deserve full notice. The climate and our air and water deserve environmental review. Ratepayers deserve protection from costs baked into rates without scrutiny. 

Please withdraw the Blanket Certificate NOPR, pipeline infrastructure cannot be fast-tracked at the public's expense. 

Sincerely,