Commissioner James Danly Statement
October 13, 2022
CP17-470-002
I concur in the Commission’s decision[1] to grant the request filed by Freeport LNG Development, L.P. and FLNG Liquefaction 4, LLC (together, Freeport LNG) for a 26-month extension of time,[2] until August 1, 2028, to complete the construction of and make available for service the Train 4 Project authorized in May 2019.[3]
I write separately to highlight one point. Our inquiry when reviewing a request for extension of time is narrow—it is not an opportunity to revisit the determinations made in Natural Gas Act authorizations after orders have become final and unappealable.[4] There is thus no question of whether the public interest determination made in the Authorization Order remains valid. Instead, it is a question of whether there is good cause to grant the extension of time, and Freeport LNG has indeed demonstrated good cause for the requested extension.
For these reasons, I respectfully concur.
[1] See Freeport LNG Dev., L.P., 181 FERC ¶ 61,023 (2022).
[2] See Freeport LNG May 16, 2022 Request for Extension of Time.
[3] Freeport LNG Dev., L.P., 167 FERC ¶ 61,155 (2019) (Authorization Order).
[4] See Corpus Christi Liquefaction Stage III, LLC, 179 FERC ¶ 61,087, at P 15 (2022) (“extension of time proceedings are not an invitation to re-open the dockets”) (citations omitted); see also Nat’l Fuel Gas Supply Corp., 179 FERC ¶ 61,226, at P 20 (2022) (“Rule 716 does not provide the Commission with additional authority to reopen the record underlying the Certificate Order here, where a final, non-appealable order has issued.”) (citations omitted); id. (Danly, Comm’r, concurring at P 5) (“Circumstances, no matter how extraordinary, cannot themselves grant jurisdiction where Congress has conferred no power. In the absence of authority provided by Congress, the Commission simply cannot revisit its public convenience and necessity determinations once a certificate order becomes final and unappealable.”).