Attorneys general for 14 states and the District of Columbia asked a federal court Aug. 18 to overturn a new regulatory authorization for shipments by rail of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The attorneys general of Maryland and California stressed safety issues as their primary concern.
The court petition, led by Attorney General Brian Frosh of Maryland, asks the US Appeals Court for the District of Columbia Circuit to find that the regulations authorizing bulk shipments of LNG by rail is unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act, the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Commission (PHMSA) completed in June a final rule authorizing bulk transportation of LNG in tank cars. The agency included additional safety requirements beyond those already in place for hazardous cryogenic materials. It required an enhanced thicker steel outer tank, remote monitoring of tank pressures, and other measures.
“Ships carrying LNG have been characterized as floating bombs,” Frosh said in his announcement of the court action. “Rolling tank cars filled with LNG through our neighborhoods are vastly more dangerous.”
PHMSA imposed “only minimal operational controls on trains carrying LNG,” Frosh said. Moreover, the federal agency provided no support for its conclusion that the operational controls it imposed will reduce the risk of catastrophic accident, Frosh said.
The court petition is Maryland v. US Department of Transportation. It is signed by Frosh and the attorneys general of California, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
Long safety record
The LNG rail rule was published in the Federal Register July 24 and is set to take effect Aug. 24.
In the rule, PHMSA said LNG “has been transported safely by trucks on highways and by marine vessels for over 40 years in the United States, and over 50 years internationally.”
PHMSA worked with the Federal Railroad Administration in shaping the rule. It noted that the railroad regulator earlier had authorized LNG transport by rail in portable tanks.
Ships carrying LNG have been sailing through the Boston metropolitan area to a terminal in Everett, Mass., since 1971 without incident. Export of LNG by ship has been frequent since 2016, also without incident.
Natural gas is converted to LNG for aboveground storage in many parts of the US, especially for “peak shaving” plants connected to gas pipeline networks where the LNG can be regassified and fed into the pipelines during peak demand time for gas. A 2016 PHMSA note said the US has more than 110 operating LNG facilities.
