August 2020, Vol. 247, No. 8
Government
Federal Court Disallows FERC Use of ‘Tolling Orders’
By Stephen Barlas, Contributing Editor, Washington, D.C. A federal court tossed out a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) policy that the commission has used to extend rehearing periods so it could spend more time examining typically landowner or environmental groups’ complaints about FERC approvals of new construction applications. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in Allegheny Defense Council v. FERC issued July 1, prohibits use of what are called “tolling orders,” which allow the commission to extend the statutory 30-day rehearing period indefinitely. The court indicated there were other legal ways FERC could extend that 30-day period. It is not clear whom
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