Natural Gas Facility Construction Matter

Washington Gas Light Co. v. FERC, No. 09-1100, concerned a petition for review of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) approval of a construction project that would allow a natural gas importer to import greater quantities of liquefied natural gas and distribute it in gaseous form.  The D.C. Circuit denied the petition, holding that, by imposing a post-expansion limit on the project that matched the pre-expansion limit, FERC satisfactorily ensured that the expansion would not result in an increased risk of unsafe natural gas leakage.

As the court wrote:  "Dominion Cove Point operates a large facility adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, where it receives imported liquefied natural gas by ship from foreign countries. Dominion Transmission is an interstate gas transmission and storage company that transmits natural gas from facilities such as Dominion Cove Point to local distributors. Washington Gas Light Company is a local natural gas distributor that provides service to residential and commercial customers in and around Washington, D.C."

Related Resources

• Full Text of Washington Gas Light Co. v. FERC, No. 09-1100