House Legislation Would Speed Decisions on Construction of LNG Export Terminals
This story appears in the Jan. 26 print edition of Transport Topics.
A House Republican from Ohio introduced a bill to expedite decision making on permits for the construction of liquefied natural gas export terminals.
Rep. Bill Johnson, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced H.R. 351 that would cap at 30 days the amount of time the Energy Department could deliberate on a permit application — once the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has completed an environmental impact study.
“With our vast LNG resources, we have a chance to help our global allies and ourselves, and this bipartisan bill will ensure we don’t squander the opportunity before us,” said Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) of Johnson’s bill in a Jan. 14 statement.
Natural gas is usually exported in large ocean-going vessels. The coastal terminals receive natural gas via pipeline and then liquefy it for shipping.
Upon arrival at its destination, the LNG is allowed to expand into a gas and then is used for heating or industrial purposes.
Upton’s committee staff said a similar bill was passed by the House in the last Congress but the legislation did not make it through the Senate.
A small portion of the LNG market is devoted to truck fuel. Tanks keep the fuel cooled to minus-260 degrees Fahrenheit until the LNG is used in a natural gas truck engine.
The Energy Department was asked for comment on the bill but declined.
America’s Natural Gas Alliance, a trade association, welcomed the introduction of the bill, saying it would “streamline the federal process for approving terminals that allow for the export of liquefied natural gas,” said ANGA Executive Vice President Frank Macchiarola.
Making the bill a law would help generate export sales and related jobs, Macchiarola said.
