ELR Citation: 55 ELR 20102
No(s). 24-1199 (D.C. Cir. Aug 1, 2025)

The D.C. Circuit denied environmental groups' petition to review FERC's approval of 1,000 feet of natural gas pipeline along the Texas-Mexico border. The groups argued FERC needed to exercise jurisdiction over a much longer stretch that begins at the 1,000-foot border pipeline and runs for 157 miles into rural Texas, and that even if it properly declined jurisdiction under §7 of the Natural Gas Act, it should still have considered that pipeline's environmental impacts. They also argued FERC violated NEPA by failing to consider alternatives to the border-crossing pipeline and that the Commission's approval of that pipeline was arbitrary and capricious. The court found FERC reasonably declined to exercise §7 jurisdiction over the longer stretch of pipeline because it was located entirely within Texas, would carry only intrastate gas upon commencing service, and would have access to nearly double its own capacity of intrastate gas via eight upstream sources. The court further found FERC's alternatives analysis did not violate NEPA because it wasn't required to consider alternatives outside its jurisdiction, and that the groups failed to show that approving the border-crossing pipeline was inconsistent with the public interest. It denied the petition.