Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently joined a coalition of attorneys general in asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review the Trump administration’s attempt to open the nation’s railways to the bulk shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) predicts that trains with 80-100 tank cars, with each tank car carrying over 30,000 gallons of LNG, will be operating on our nationwide rail network as a result of the LNG by Rail Rule.
“The lack of safety measures proposed by this administration and the risks posed to our communities are serious red flags I cannot overlook,” Nessel said. “I’ve joined my colleagues in asking the court to intervene and review this rule to keep our communities safe. Studies on how to safely transport liquefied natural gas by rail are still ongoing, and this administration has rushed to implement a rule that will needlessly endanger people’s lives and threaten our environment.”
Nessel joined her colleagues in January urging the Trump administration to withdraw its proposal until PHMSA and the Federal Railways Administration could complete safety studies and then develop a full Environmental Impact Statement that rigorously considers the public safety and climate change implications of permitting the nationwide transport of LNG by rail.
Potentially allowing the bulk transport of LNG by rail along through Michigan—including through densely populated areas—would create significant and serious risks of catastrophic accidents, the group contends.
Additionally, the increased use of natural gas that would occur as a result of this proposal would result in greater emissions of greenhouse gases, which pose a threat to the environment, according to the coalition.
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