ELR Citation: 53 ELR 20078
No(s). 20-1379 (D.C. Cir. May 16, 2023)

The D.C. Circuit dismissed in part and denied in part environmental groups' petition to review FERC's approval of a liquefied natural gas project in Alaska. The groups argued the approval violated NEPA and the Natural Gas Act. The court found that FERC considered and reasonably rejected no-action alternatives to the project; was not required to consider indirect greenhouse gas emissions because they were not reasonably foreseeable; adequately considered impacts on belugas by identifying potential threats, analyzing their magnitude, and imposing targeted mitigation measures; and reasonably acknowledged and addressed the difference in affected wetlands calculations; but it also concluded it lacked jurisdiction to consider the groups' social cost of carbon claim because the rehearing petition did not raise it. The court also found FERC expressly concluded the project was in the public interest because it would have substantial economic and commercial benefits that were not outweighed by the environmental impacts. It dismissed the petition to the extent the issues raised were not exhausted, and otherwise denied it on the merits.