The US Department of Energy recently issued an order denying Sierra Club’s request for rehearing of the order granting LNG exports from the Dominion’s Cove Point terminal in Lusby, Maryland.
Sierra Club claimed in its rehearing request that DOE’s environmental review failed to take a “hard look” at the indirect and cumulative impacts of LNG exports.
According to the filing, Sierra Club claims that the DOE should have assessed the “cumulative impacts of drilling-induced by all other approved and pending (non-FTA) export projects” as part of its cumulative impacts analysis.
In its answer DOE states that the primary component of the liquefaction project is the addition of one liquefaction train, sited within the existing terminal’s area, where much of the land has been previously disturbed by a number of prior projects.
DOE stated that due to this, the environmental impacts are “small in number and well-defined.”
Additionally, DOE said in its filing that the potential negative implications of the Dominion Cove Point exports are outweighed by the likely net economic benefits and by other non-economic or indirect benefits.
In conclusion, DOE said that Sierra Club failed to show that the order granting LNG exports authorization is inconsistent with the public interest and denied the request for rehearing.
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LNG World News Staff