1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i For Whom the FERC Tolls: Federal Court Rejects Agency “Tolling Orders” September 8, 2020 In Allegheny Defense Project v. FERC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit)
2、 addressed the legitimacy of “tolling orders,” a longstanding procedural tool utilized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to administer the Natural Gas Act (NGA). FERCs use of tolling orders, which is not expressly authorized by statute, has long been a source of controversy, drawing
3、 criticism from environmental groups, state attorneys general, and FERC Commissioners, among others. Nonetheless, until this year, the practice had been widely used and generally accepted. However, in Allegheny Defense Project, the D.C. Circuit rejected FERCs use of a tolling order, and in so doing
4、created uncertainty about the regulatory process for pipeline certification and construction as well as other administrative efforts to prolong deadlines through the use of tolling orders. After an overview of the NGA and FERCs use of tolling orders, this post analyzes the D.C. Circuits Allegheny De
