Log in Subscribe

Liquid Natural Gas rail rule overturned

MATTHEW ALBECK
Posted 1/21/25

WASHINGTON D.C. — On January 17th, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) by Rail Rule adopted by the U.S. Department of …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Liquid Natural Gas rail rule overturned

Posted

WASHINGTON D.C. — On January 17th, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) by Rail Rule adopted by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) in 2020 under the first Trump Administration. Trump had issued an executive order directing the DOT to permit LNG shipment in rail tank cars across the U.S. network. 

Gas and rail industry groups who supported the rule argued that rail shipments would allow producers to meet demand by circumventing pipelines. After the rule’s adoption, it was challenged legally by a group of environmental organizations, Tribes, and Attorney General from several states.

Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) and four other environmental groups represented by Earthjustice brought the lawsuit. According to the Court, PHMSA evaluated the safety of LNG transport by rail and determined that the Trump administration had not sufficiently evaluated the safety risks.

The court vacated the rule, a decision heralded by the Delaware Riverkeeper’s Maya van Rossum: “In stark and alarming detail…the court demonstrates its understanding of the tremendous dangers associated with the transportation of LNG and the need for careful consideration of these hazards before allowing a new, and obviously dangerous, mode of transportation. From the inception [of the rule], the DRN, and our partners, have been sounding the alarm. It is rewarding to know that there are still those in government…willing to consider the facts, the science and their own common sense. Donald Trump was willing to cavalierly sacrifice communities to the hazards of transporting LNG by rail in order to curry favor and support from the fossil fuel industry. Going into the next administration, DRN will remain vigilant to challenge future absurd proposals.”

Cathay Collentine, the director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign, also praised the Court’s decision in a statement: “Communities near harm’s way along railroad tracks where trains could carry explosive LNG can breathe a sigh of relief now that this dangerous rule has been struck down.” 

While LNG has been transported by ship overseas and in tanker trucks domestically for decades, its shipment by rail in the U.S. was relatively new and only approved in a few cases since 2015.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here