Should Small Scale Imports & Exports of Liquefied Natural Gas Not Require Environmental Reviews? (H.R. 4606)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is H.R. 4606?
(Updated February 17, 2020)
This bill — the Ensuring Small Scale LNG Certainty and Access Act — would grant applications for imports and exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) that don’t exceed 0.14 billion cubic feet per day without modification or delay. The approval of such an application would mean that an environmental impact statement or environmental assessment wouldn’t be required for the project to proceed. It would codify a Dept. of Energy rule that took effect on August 24, 2018 into law.
Argument in favor
By easing requirements for environmental reviews surrounding the import or export of small volumes of liquefied natural gas, this bill would boost energy production in the U.S. and promote economic growth.
Argument opposed
This bill is unnecessary and would prevent critical environmental impact reviews from occurring related to the import or export of natural gas. It will only increase our reliance on fossil fuel for short-term growth.
Impact
Businesses and workers involved in small scale imports or exports of LNG; energy and environmental regulators.
Cost of H.R. 4606
A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.
Additional Info
In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) introduced this bill to encourage exports of American-produced LNG:
“The U.S. is currently the world’s largest producer of natural gas, with trillions of cubic feet of recoverable natural gas beneath our feet. We should be doing all we can to take advantage of this abundant resource, and it is my hope that these bills will help further that goal. It’s critical that we take advantage of this opportunity that we’ve been blessed with -- there is no doubt that LNG exports are creating opportunities and improving the quality of life for hard-working families in Eastern and Southeastern Ohio.”
Some House Democrats opposed this bill in committee, writing in its report:
“Ultimately, H.R. 4606 is a bill in search of a problem. It would prematurely and unnecessarily enshrine a Trump Administration pro-fossil fuel proposed rule into law. Approving another bill to expand natural gas exports would incent widespread fossil fuel extraction and higher domestic natural gas prices, with serious climate, public health, and economic consequences for American consumers and manufacturers.”
This legislation passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee on a 35-15 vote and has the support of six cosponsors, including four Republicans and two Democrats..
Of Note: In recent years the U.S. economy has seen a boom in extraction of oil and natural gas from shale. According to data from our partners at USAFacts, a non-partisan civic data initiative, throughout the 1980s and ‘90s, the total value of oil and gas extraction in the U.S. typically averaged in the $40-50 billion range. However, this decade it has consistently been above $200 billion including a peak of $338 billion in 2014.
Media:
Summary by Eric Revell
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