Two U.S. House members recently sent a letter requesting the status of a special permit for Energy Transport Solutions to move liquefied natural gas (LNG) by rail.
Peter DeFazio (D-OR), chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) sent the letter to Howard Elliott, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) administrator.
“The requested special permit presents unique and substantial risk to the safety of the public and the environment,” the letter said. “Should even one rail tank car get punctured, the results could be catastrophic. Due to LNG’s cold temperature, if it were to spill near an ignition source, the evaporating gas can burn above the LNG pool, resulting in a pool fire that would spread as the LNG pool expanded away from its source; such a pool fire is intense, burning far more hotly and rapidly than crude oil or gasoline fires, and cannot be extinguished. The risks of such an incident include thermal radiation.”
The congressmen also requested a revised draft permit be made available to the public. The draft needs to include operating conditions that are considering before the special permit is finalized.
The public comment period on the permit closed Aug. 7.