Shannon Van Hoesen, shannon.vanhoesen@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC - Yesterday, a Trump-appointed judge in the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction to block the Biden administration's pause on liquefied methane gas export approvals.
While the order does not require the authorization of any new LNG facilities, it requires the Department of Energy to continue its review of pending LNG export applications. The judge’s order does not stop the DOE from its ongoing update of the data and analysis used in its Public Interest Determination process for determining whether to authorize new LNG export permits.
This follows last week's decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to permit a large gas export terminal, CP2 LNG, that would have the equivalent emissions of 46 coal-fired power plants.
In reaction, Sierra Club Staff Attorney Louisa Eberle released the following statement:
“While the ruling requires DOE to proceed with evaluating pending LNG applications, this preliminary injunction does not order DOE to issue any specific decisions or stop the critical process of updating the data it relies on to determine whether those applications are in the public interest as required by law. By making sure it has the most up-to-date information around liquified methane gas export impacts, DOE is simply fulfilling its most basic function as an agency and protecting people from harm. Deciding whether or not to approve LNG export applications has serious consequences for how much Americans pay for energy and whether there is clean air and water to support healthy local communities and ensure thriving local industries, like fishing. DOE has the authority—and obligation—to adequately review the true impacts of LNG exports, and we believe they will come to the same conclusion we have, which is that expanded LNG exports are not in the public interest and the pending applications should be denied.”
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