Watching Government: New York moves ahead on LNG

Feb. 16, 2015
New York, a state more often associated with fiercely resisting unconventional natural gas exploration and production, established a program to regulate LNG facilities on Jan. 27.

New York, a state more often associated with fiercely resisting unconventional natural gas exploration and production, established a program to regulate LNG facilities on Jan. 27.

Part 570 of New York Codes, Rules, and Regulations also addresses LNG transportation, including a statute requiring that intrastate movement of LNG occur only along approved routes, the state's Department of Environmental Conservation said. The program, which emphasizes safety, takes effect on Feb. 26.

DEC proposed it on Sept. 11 to comply with Environmental Conservation Law Article 23, Title 73, which mandated new requirements for LNG operations. New York's legislature enacted a moratorium on siting of new LNG facilities partly in response to a 1973 maintenance accident on Staten Island.

It was lifted in April 1999, except for municipalities with populations of 1 million or more, but was extended every 2 years in the time since. It currently runs until Apr. 1.

Natural Gas Vehicles for America (NGVAmerica) applauded New York's action. The state is the nation's third-largest mover of freight, is the country's fourth-largest fuel consumer, and is home to the Eastern Seaboard's biggest port, the Washington organization said on Jan. 30.

It said construction of LNG facilities in New York will help connect the Empire State to the rest of the Northeast, and hasten adoption of LNG as a clean-burning alternative fuel.

"This announcement means clean-burning and low-cost natural gas can displace petroleum in some of the country's busiest transportation corridors," NGVAmerica Pres. Matthew Godlewski said. "New York regulators made an important decision for energy independence and the environment."

Contradiction? Maybe not

But the obvious question remains how the state's DEC can move ahead so decisively on LNG when its governor and legislature have pretty much blocked hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling for gas there.

One possible answer is in DEC's explanation of responses to comments it received last fall after publishing a proposed rulemaking on the LNG program on Sept. 11.

"The production of natural gas is outside the scope of this rulemaking," it said. "Part 570 contains no provisions regarding the production of gas and focuses on the mandate in the LNG statute to promulgate an LNG regulation. [It] would result in less than a 1% increase in gas usage in the state. In addition, the safety record for LNG is similar to, or better than, that of other fuels."

Like most other states, New York will continue to rely on National Fire Protection Association standards for handling LNG. DEC said Part 570 will provide the nation's most comprehensive LNG management system because it also will require permits tailored for each facility.