FERC blanket-permit plan draws state protests as gas pipeline fights multiply
Over a dozen states are challenging a FERC proposal to widen gas pipeline permitting exemptions, adding a new front in the US energy infrastructure fight.
Over a dozen states and the District of Columbia have lodged protests against a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proposal to broaden the kinds of gas pipeline projects that qualify for review exemptions, according to a filing reported on Tuesday (2026-07-28) by Rigzone.6
The dispute, still in its early procedural phase, matters because it tests whether the current FERC majority can shift more pipeline approvals onto a fast track. If the rule proceeds, smaller interstate lines could bypass full environmental review, cutting both lead times and costs for developers. But a coalition of state regulators and attorneys general is pushing back, arguing the exemption would strip them of oversight authority over projects that cross their borders.6
The FERC fight is only one strand of a broader deregulatory push that has accelerated through 2026. The Interior Department on Monday (2026-06-22) proposed two regulatory changes that would cut up-front costs for oil and gas drillers on federal land, including eliminating a requirement that cleanup plans be submitted with drilling applications, E&E News reported.3
Those moves run parallel to a related but distinct battle over transmission. The New England States Committee on Electricity told federal regulators on Monday (2026-06-01) that Eversource Energy's $360.6 million X-178 transmission project in New Hampshire "epitomizes" the need to reform the "asset condition" review process, arguing the utility misclassified the project to avoid regulatory scrutiny.2
The numbers behind that complaint are stark. Since 2016, $6.5 billion in asset condition projects have been installed in New England, representing 55% of all transmission projects, NESCOE said. Looking forward, $5.5 billion of such projects are planned, proposed or under construction, compared with just $281 million in regional projects.2
Eversource rejects the characterisation. The company said its X-178 project has been "extensively reviewed" in the ISO-NE PAC process, that it followed ISO-NE's rules, and that ratepayer advocates "identify no evidence — nor can they — indicating that project scope, design, or timing was influenced by compensation."2
The transmission and pipeline fights share a common thread: regulatory classification determines whether projects face a few quarters of review or several years. In New England, the asset condition label has become the fast lane, and NESCOE argues utilities are exploiting it. At FERC, the blanket-permit proposal would create a similar fast lane for gas lines.2,6
Congress, meanwhile, is juggling permitting reform alongside spending bills and budget packages in a two-month sprint that began the week of (2026-06-01), according to E&E News. Any legislative fix would likely preempt some of the agency-level fights now playing out, but the timeline is tight and the agenda crowded.1
The administration has also shown it is willing to use the federal purse to end energy projects it dislikes. In March it agreed to pay France's TotalEnergies almost $1 billion to permanently halt its US offshore wind projects, and at the end of June it said it would pay Duke Energy $129 million to abandon its North Carolina offshore wind plans, Oilprice.com reported.4
The flip side is the cancellation of $7.6 billion in clean energy grants last year, which the US Department of Energy said in a July 15 court filing was "based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient's state." That admission, first reported by the New York Times on Friday (2026-07-24), puts the administration in the unusual position of conceding political motivations in federal energy spending as it argues the grants were lawfully revoked.5
For gas traders and power investors, the practical effect of these parallel fights is regulatory uncertainty that neither bull nor bear can price with confidence. A FERC rule expanding blanket permits could accelerate gas infrastructure buildout and ease supply constraints in constrained regions. A court rejection, or a congressional permitting deal that overrides the agency, would reset the calculus entirely.6,1
The New England transmission case offers a cautionary tale for those expecting a clean resolution. NESCOE's complaint is pending, Eversource is defending its classification, and the underlying $5.5 billion pipeline of asset condition projects remains in limbo. A FERC ruling on either the X-178 complaint or the blanket-permit proposal would give the market its clearest signal yet on how far the deregulatory push can go.2