Statement of Commissioner James P. Danly
January 25, 2023
CP17-458-020
I concur in the Commission’s decision to grant Midship Pipeline Company, LLC’s request for an extension of time until December 31, 2024, to complete construction of three remaining compressor units, authorized in August 2018, and make them available for service.[1]
I write separately to underscore the scope of this proceeding. 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.[2] There is thus no question that the public interest determination made in the certificate order remains valid. Nor need we conduct a general inquiry regarding the certificate holder’s compliance with their certificate’s conditions, such as their obligation to conduct required restoration. Instead, we ask only one question: whether there is good cause to grant the extension of time. Midship Pipeline Company, LLC has demonstrated such good cause.
For these reasons, I respectfully concur.
[1] See Midship Pipeline Co., LLC, 182 FERC ¶ 61,031 (2023).
[2] 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.”).