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FERC proposes three-tier LNG authorization program, with comment period still ahead

The October 15 proposal distinguishes automatic authorization from 60-day and 90-day notice routes. It is not a final rule or a project approval.

By Greener Numbers Editorial Team · Published October 15, 2026 · Updated 10/15/2026

FERC proposed a blanket authorization program for certain activities at liquefied natural gas facilities on October 15. The notice of proposed rulemaking is Item C-1 in Docket RM26-2-001, separate from the commission's air-quality review proposal announced the same day.

The proposal would allow eligible activities to proceed without case-specific authorization orders under Sections 3 and 7 of the Natural Gas Act. FERC says the design draws on its existing blanket certificate program for interstate natural gas pipelines. This is a proposed regulatory route, not evidence that a particular terminal has received approval.

Under the proposed automatic route, activities could not increase a plant's authorized capacity, expand its authorized vertical or horizontal footprint, or push operating conditions beyond applicable design limits. Periodic reporting would accompany that route.

A 60-day prior-notice route would cover activities that may increase authorized capacity while staying within the plant footprint and the affected or remaining facilities' design limits. A 90-day route would cover specified new LNG facilities and auxiliary systems, including some outside the footprint, subject to limits on facility type, location and size.

The proposed program includes standard environmental and engineering design conditions and other requirements for compliance with applicable laws. FERC says interested parties will have 60 days after Federal Register publication to comment. The announcement does not itself supply a fixed calendar deadline for that period.

What to watch: Federal Register publication, public comments and any final rule will determine the next steps. FERC describes permitting and investment benefits, but this release does not measure a reduction in approval time, a household gas-price change or additional operating LNG capacity.

Official source: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ↗