Waiver of the Water Quality Certification Requirements of Section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act

In this final rule, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is amending its regulations pursuant to section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act to establish a categorial reasonable period of time for a state or tribal certifying authority to act on a water quality certification request for proposed natural gas and liquified natural gas projects. The Commission is allowing certifying authorities up to one year after receipt of a request for water quality certification, filed in connection with a requested Commission-issued section 7 certificate of public convenience and necessity or section 3 authorization under the Natural Gas Act, to grant or deny the request.