US Senator wants FERC assurances on LNG siting, Wood sends letter

Washington (Platts)--14Jun2005

US Sen Dianne Feinstein (Democrat-California) said Tuesday that before
deciding on whether to offer an amendment to the Senate energy bill on the
siting of liquefied natural gas import terminals, she would study a letter
from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Pat Wood. Feinstein said in
a meeting Friday she asked Wood for written assurance that codifying federal
authority over LNG terminal siting would not effectively eliminate the role of
states in permitting projects. Wood's letter was not immediately available.

But a FERC spokesman said it is very similar to a May 25 statement in which he
said affirming FERC's LNG authority under the federal Natural Gas Act "will
not diminish the important and considerable authorities" of state and local
governments. Wood said that under the current bill language, states would
retain authority to oversee the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Clean Water
Act and Clean Air Act. He added states "can effectively veto any proposed LNG
terminal, regardless of this commissions approval of the project."

In previous comments, and reflected in language in the letter sent to Sen
Feinstein, Wood has argued that the existing bill does not impact existing
state authority or states' power to appeal decisions, the FERC spokesman said.
The only major change, he said, is to strengthen the commission's hand in
setting deadlines during the permitting process. The bill grants FERC
"exclusive authority" over LNG terminal siting, construction and expansions.

Were Feinstein to introduce her amendment, which is now in the form of a
stand-alone bill co-sponsored by Sen Olympia Snowe (Republican-Maine), it
would authorize "concurrent" state and federal jurisdiction over siting and
develop a mediation process to address any conflicts that arise between state
and federal entities. The measure also would permit states to impose and
enforce more stringent safety standards than those required under federal law.

This story was originally published in Platts Natural Gas Alert
http://www.naturalgasalert.platts.com

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