The United States Department of Transportation (“DOT”), Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) recently issued its audit findings of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (“PHMSA’s”) procedures and standards for reviewing whether liquified natural gas (“LNG”) facilities meet federal safety standards. The audit was designed to assess PHMSA’s (1) review of proposed LNG facilities, (2) inspection of existing LNG facilities, and (3) evaluation of state gas programs that are tasked with inspecting LNG facilities. While the OIG found that PHMSA’s inspection of existing interstate LNG facilities met agency standards, the audit identified several deficiencies with PHMSA’s siting of proposed LNG facilities and its review processes of state programs. This report comes as PHMSA’s proposed overhaul of its Part 193 LNG safety regulations moves toward publication.
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Executive Order
New Executive Order Attempts to Streamline Presidential Permits
The White House issued a new Executive Order (EO) on April 10, 2019 intended to ‘revise the process for the development and issuance of Presidential Permits’ for certain cross border energy infrastructure. The EO limits the opportunity and timeframe for federal agencies, states or Indian tribes to comment on Presidential Permit applications for oil, water or sewage pipelines and other border crossing infrastructure such as bridges, rail and surface roads. The new EO clarifies that the ultimate decision to grant or deny such permits remains with the President (that authority was previously delegated to the State Department).
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