The "Jurisdictional Oversight and Adjudication for Natural Gas Act" (JOAN Act) seeks to accelerate the permitting and judicial review processes for natural gas infrastructure projects. It designates the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as the sole lead agency for all National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews related to authorizations under sections 3 and 7 of the Natural Gas Act. FERC is tasked with coordinating early with other agencies and taking actions to facilitate the expeditious resolution of its project-related NEPA review. Other agencies involved in federal authorizations for these projects must give deference, to the maximum extent authorized by law, to FERC's determined scope of the NEPA review. The bill establishes a process for FERC to identify and invite federal, state, local, and tribal agencies to participate in the review process, requiring them to formulate plans for concurrent authorization completion. Federal authorizations must be issued within 90 days of FERC completing its NEPA review, with agency heads required to notify Congress and FERC if deadlines are missed. Notably, the bill removes the requirement for applicants to provide a water quality certification under section 401 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act . Instead, states can propose conditions directly to FERC for inclusion in the authorization, which FERC may adopt if necessary for compliance with water quality standards. The JOAN Act significantly alters the judicial review process for natural gas projects, deeming FERC's core authorization a final agency action for all associated federal authorizations. Challenges must be filed as a single civil action exclusively in specific U.S. Courts of Appeals within 60 days of the core authorization's publication, with review limited to a finalized consolidated administrative record . The bill imposes a multiplicative merit standard for preliminary injunctions, requiring a cumulative probability of success exceeding 50 percent across all legal requirements. If a court fails to issue a final determination within 180 days of the filing deadline, the project's authorizations are considered approved and not subject to further review. Further, the bill strictly limits injunctive relief to 60 days, prohibits enjoining unrelated project activities, and requires clear and convincing evidence for narrowly tailored permanent injunctions. It explicitly prohibits the remedy of remand with vacatur and allows project sponsors to continue construction on unaffected parts of a project during litigation. To enhance transparency, the Commission must publicly track all actions required for federal authorizations, including schedules, expected completion dates, and reasons for delays.
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Timeline
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
JOAN Act
USA119th CongressS-4300| Senate
| Updated: 4/15/2026
The "Jurisdictional Oversight and Adjudication for Natural Gas Act" (JOAN Act) seeks to accelerate the permitting and judicial review processes for natural gas infrastructure projects. It designates the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as the sole lead agency for all National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews related to authorizations under sections 3 and 7 of the Natural Gas Act. FERC is tasked with coordinating early with other agencies and taking actions to facilitate the expeditious resolution of its project-related NEPA review. Other agencies involved in federal authorizations for these projects must give deference, to the maximum extent authorized by law, to FERC's determined scope of the NEPA review. The bill establishes a process for FERC to identify and invite federal, state, local, and tribal agencies to participate in the review process, requiring them to formulate plans for concurrent authorization completion. Federal authorizations must be issued within 90 days of FERC completing its NEPA review, with agency heads required to notify Congress and FERC if deadlines are missed. Notably, the bill removes the requirement for applicants to provide a water quality certification under section 401 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act . Instead, states can propose conditions directly to FERC for inclusion in the authorization, which FERC may adopt if necessary for compliance with water quality standards. The JOAN Act significantly alters the judicial review process for natural gas projects, deeming FERC's core authorization a final agency action for all associated federal authorizations. Challenges must be filed as a single civil action exclusively in specific U.S. Courts of Appeals within 60 days of the core authorization's publication, with review limited to a finalized consolidated administrative record . The bill imposes a multiplicative merit standard for preliminary injunctions, requiring a cumulative probability of success exceeding 50 percent across all legal requirements. If a court fails to issue a final determination within 180 days of the filing deadline, the project's authorizations are considered approved and not subject to further review. Further, the bill strictly limits injunctive relief to 60 days, prohibits enjoining unrelated project activities, and requires clear and convincing evidence for narrowly tailored permanent injunctions. It explicitly prohibits the remedy of remand with vacatur and allows project sponsors to continue construction on unaffected parts of a project during litigation. To enhance transparency, the Commission must publicly track all actions required for federal authorizations, including schedules, expected completion dates, and reasons for delays.