Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

The Tiger Pipeline will be a “natural gas company” as defined in the Natural Gas Act and is subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).  The FERC is the lead federal agency that will determine whether the Tiger Pipeline Project will be in the public convenience and necessity.   The issuance of a certificate by the FERC will be the federal authorization necessary to permit the construction and operation of the Tiger Pipeline.  The FERC will also monitor all construction and restoration activities to insure that Tiger Pipeline complies with all federal, state, and local permits, plans, and regulations. 

Major Steps of the FERC Regulatory Process for Pipeline Construction

• Applicant to file with the FERC its Request to Initiate the FERC’s National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") Review Process – On March 13, 2009, ETC Tiger submitted its Pre-Filing Request with the FERC which was assigned Docket No. PF09-9-000.  Upon acceptance of this Request, the FERC commenced its environmental review of the Tiger Project.  As part of this pre-filing phase, the FERC staff mailed out to affected landowners (identified by county tax records), federal, state, and local government agencies its Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) of the Tiger Project and requested their comments. The purpose of the pre-filing process is to encourage involvement by interested stakeholders that allows for the early identification and resolution of environmental and other issues.  ETC Tiger also mailed out an information package to affected landowners about the Tiger Project and the FERC regulatory process.  ETC Tiger has conducted an extensive public outreach program that included local meetings in the proposed project area, contacts with federal, state, and local government representatives, and notices published in local newspapers. 
• Applicant to file with the FERC a Section 7(c) Certificate Application – On August 31, 2009, ETC Tiger filed its certificate application that requested the FERC to authorize the construction, operation, and ownership of the Tiger Project.  The FERC assigned Docket No. CP09-460-000 to the Tiger Project certificate proceeding.  The certificate application includes among other things, a description of the proposed pipeline route and facilities, proposed rates to be charged to shippers, an environmental report, a listing of permits to be acquired from environmental and land agencies, and the environmental plans and procedures to be used during construction. 
• FERC Staff Reviews the Applicant’s Section 7(c) Certificate Application, and Prepares an Environmental Assessment (EA) – The FERC's analysis of the environmental impacts and conclusions from the construction of the Tiger Project will be included the EA.  Depending on the comments received during the scoping process, the EA will be published and mailed to federal, state, and local agencies, and interested individuals in this proceeding. A comment period will be allotted for review following publication of the EA. All comments on the EA will be considered before the FERC staff makes their recommendations to the Commission. 

The National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") requires the FERC to take into account the environmental impacts that could result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of a certificate authorizing construction.  NEPA also requires FERC to discover and address concerns that the public may have about construction proposals. This process is referred to as “scoping.” The main goal of the scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EA on the important environmental issues.  In the EA, the FERC will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the construction and operation of the proposed Project under these general headings:

• Geology and Soils
• Water Resources
• Vegetation and Wildlife
• Land Use, Socioeconomic's, and Recreation
• Cultural Resources
• Air and Noise Quality
• Reliability and Safety
• Cumulative Impacts
• Alternatives

• FERC Issues a Certificate Order Authorizing Construction – ETC Tiger anticipates that the FERC will issues its certificate order in February 2010.  FERC staff will continue its involvement during construction and post-construction activities to insure compliance with all rules and regulation of the FERC, and including all environmental plans, procedures, and permits issued to ETC Tiger.  Representatives of other federal, state, county, and local land and environmental agencies, and private landowners (including local utilities) may have its representatives present to observe construction activities of the Tiger Project.

FERC Citizen's Guide

An Interstate Natural Gas Facility on my Land? What do you need to know? The FERC wants you to know:

• how its procedures work,
• what rights you have,
• how the location of a pipeline or other facilities is decided, and
• what safety and environmental issues might be involved.

Click here to download FERC's Citizen Guide where you will find all this information and more to help you know what you need to know.   You may also find other useful information concerning natural gas pipelines on the FERC’s webpage at:  http://www.ferc.gov/