Improving Interagency Coordination for Pipeline Reviews Act

The bill would designate FERC as the only lead agency for NEPA environmental reviews of natural gas pipelines and LNG import and export terminals authorized under the Natural Gas Act, requiring all other agencies to defer to FERC's approved scope. FERC would follow strict deadlines — identifying relevant agencies within 30 days of receiving an application, inviting them within 45 days, and designating participating agencies within 60 days. Agencies not designated as participating would be barred from submitting comments or requesting supplemental NEPA reviews. All other federal and state agency reviews would have to proceed concurrently with FERC's, and federal authorizations would have to be issued within 90 days of NEPA review completion. FERC would also be required to consult with the Transportation Security Administration on pipeline cybersecurity and physical security.

The bill would remove the requirement that pipeline applicants obtain state water-quality certifications under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, folding water-quality concerns into FERC's coordinated review instead. States near a potential discharge could propose conditions for FERC to consider, but FERC would have final say. Agencies that miss deadlines would have to notify Congress within five days. FERC would publicly track the status of all required authorizations on its website, and applicants could fund third-party contractors to help process their applications.

Natural gas pipeline and LNG terminal developers seeking authorizations under the Natural Gas Act; FERC and other federal agencies involved in energy infrastructure review; state environmental and water-quality agencies that currently issue Section 401 certifications; tribes and local governments that may be designated as participating agencies; the Transportation Security Administration, which would be consulted on security; and communities near proposed pipeline routes.

States would lose their independent Section 401 water-quality certification authority over pipeline projects — a tool that has been used to delay or deny approvals — and could only propose conditions FERC is free to reject. Agencies that miss designation deadlines could be shut out of the review record entirely. Pipeline developers would gain faster, more predictable permitting timelines, while states and non-participating agencies would have significantly less leverage to shape project outcomes.

FERC would implement the bill by running strict sequential deadlines after receiving each application: identifying relevant agencies at 30 days, inviting them at 45 days, and designating participating agencies at 60 days. It would set a master schedule under Natural Gas Act Section 15(c)(1) that all other agencies must follow concurrently. Non-designated agencies are barred from supplemental NEPA reviews except in narrow circumstances. Each participating agency must transmit a compliance plan, readiness notice to the applicant within 30 days, and progress reports every 90 days. Deadline failures trigger a five-day congressional notification requirement. FERC would publish a real-time public dashboard of all required actions, contacts, expected completion dates, and delay explanations. Security consultation with TSA is required for each application.