FERC opens scoping review for pipeline's North Extension projectAnalysis

Federal regulators have opened the public comment period for an environmental review of a natural gas pipeline expansion across five Illinois counties and one Wisconsin county. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said it will prepare an environmental document examining the North Extension Project, proposed by Natural Gas Pipeline of America, LLC and Horizon Pipeline Company, LLC, before deciding whether to grant the project a certificate of public convenience and necessity.

The proposed construction and operation would run through Grundy, McHenry, Lake, Livingston and Will counties in Illinois and Kenosha County, Wisconsin, according to FERC.

What scoping means for this project

FERC's notice opens what the agency calls "scoping," the process it uses to collect input from the public and other agencies before drafting the environmental document. The commission said the goal is to focus that document on the environmental issues that matter most, covering the project's potential effects, reasonable alternatives, and ways to avoid or lessen impact. Staff will review every written comment received while preparing the analysis.

Anyone who already sent FERC comments on the project before the agency opened this docket on August 12, 2026, has to refile them in Docket No. CP26-564-000 for them to count in this proceeding.

Comments are due in Washington, DC by 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on October 22, 2026. FERC accepts comments three ways: through its eComment tool for brief text submissions, through eFiling for attached documents, which requires creating an eRegister account first, or by mail addressed to the commission's secretary, Debbie-Anne A. Reese. The docket number, CP26-564-000, has to appear on any submission.

Eminent domain and landowners

The notice spells out what happens if FERC approves the North Extension Project. The Natural Gas Act gives Natural Gas Pipeline of America and Horizon Pipeline Company the right of eminent domain to build the line. A pipeline company representative may contact affected landowners to negotiate an easement, and landowners are not required to sign one. But if a landowner and the companies cannot reach an agreement, the companies could take the matter to court, where a judge would set compensation under state law. FERC said it has no authority over that process once it reaches a court: the commission neither grants nor oversees the exercise of eminent domain, and the courts handle those cases exclusively.

Natural Gas Pipeline of America and Horizon Pipeline Company gave landowners a FERC-prepared fact sheet, "An Interstate Natural Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?", which addresses eminent domain and how to take part in the commission's proceedings. FERC said the fact sheet and other landowner material are posted on its website under the Natural Gas, Landowner Topics link.