FERC Proposes First Blanket Authorization for LNG Plants
FERC's proposed first-ever blanket authorization program for LNG plants, together with a new air modeling policy, could shorten permitting timelines for natural gas infrastructure developers.
On October 15, 2026, FERC took two steps intended to expedite review of natural gas infrastructure: it proposed the first blanket authorization program for liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants, and it took a second action on an air modeling policy, whose terms the source summary does not set out. Counsel should treat the first item as a proposal, not a final program; scope, eligible facilities, and the treatment of contested proceedings would be settled through notice and comment.
Schedule certainty, rather than engineering design, drives the economics, financing, and offtake commitments of LNG projects, and FERC review with its environmental analysis is the usual pacing item. A blanket authorization route could compress the front end of that review, while an air modeling policy could standardize how air quality effects are analyzed inside FERC proceedings. Both steps foreground the seam between FERC's exclusive jurisdiction over interstate gas siting and the separate state and federal air regimes that often drive real-world timelines.
Next to watch: comment deadlines, any FERC order implementing the blanket authorization, and how the air modeling policy is finalized or revised. This is procedural; clients should test applicability with their own project teams.