The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
protects the free exercise of religion by prohibiting the
government from substantially burdening a person's
religious exercise and guaranteeing that individualsmay assert a violation of RF RA as a claim in a judicial
proceeding and obtain appropriate relief. 42 U.S.C.§ 2000bb-1(a), (c). Federal statutory law is subject toRFRA unless specifically exempted. Id. § 2000bb-3(b).
The Natural Gas Act (NGA) applies to the
transportation of natural gas in interstate commerceand authorizes the Federal Energy RegulatoryCommission (FERC) to issue orders grantingapplications for new pipelines. Third persons to anapplication must strictly comply with the NGA'sadministrative procedure to obtain judicial review of anorder, including intervening and requesting rehearingbefore FERC. 15 U.S.C. § 717r (a), (b). A circuit court
then has exclusive but limited jurisdiction to "affirm,modify, or set aside" the order. Id. § 717r(b). Congress
did not exempt the NGA from RFRA.

1. Must a person intervene in an application and
follow the required administrative procedures forobjecting to proposed agency action in order to preventthe government agency from later burdening herreligious exercise in violation of RFRA?

2. Does circuit court review of an administrative
agency's order satisfy RFRA's guarantee to assert aclaim in a judicial proceeding and obtain appropriaterelief against the government?

Whether RFRA claims must be exhausted through administrative procedures before being asserted in court