In the News

Seven members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation have urged the U.S. Department of Transportation to permanently ban shipments of liquefied natural gas by rail, arguing that a plan to ship the highly explosive fuel through their districts to a proposed export terminal in New Jersey poses the risk of “catastrophic impacts.’’

The Biden administration had ordered the suspension of gas shipments by rail in November 2021, freezing a controversial 2020 decision by the Trump administration to greenlight the practice. In a letter dated Feb. 24, the Pennsylvania lawmakers, all Democrats, applauded the suspension and called on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to act on his department’s proposal to make the ban permanent. A decision is expected this month.

The congressional representatives contend that the Trump administration failed to propose adequate safeguards or conduct the necessary analysis of the potential impacts of allowing liquefied natural gas to be transported in railcars. They also argue that the rule was issued before federal agencies completed safety reviews, that its analysis of the greenhouse gas impacts of a planned Pennsylvania project did not meet federal standards and that regulators did not examine how the shipments would affect minority and disadvantaged communities.

The lawmakers’ concerns focus on a plan by New Fortress Energy, a natural gas investment company, to ship LNG from a proposed liquefaction terminal in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, to a former munitions manufacturing site in Gibbstown, New Jersey, across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.