Over a year ago, disaster struck East Palestine, Ohio. Hazardous chemicals leaked into waterways and nearby residents had to evacuate their homes. Above it all, black clouds billowed into the air, evidence of first responders’ desperate attempts to avoid deadly explosions by venting and burning off volatile gas. All of this mayhem was the product of a train derailment involving volatile hazardous materials.
The train derailment that devastated East Palestine was calamitous, but it could have been even worse—that train could have been carrying explosive liquefied natural gas (LNG). LNG is both long-burning and highly explosive; just 22 train cars of LNG contain equivalent energy to the Hiroshima atomic bomb. LNG is not a substance that can move safely through our communities, especially not at the volume that freight shipping entails. Thus, NRDC and allies have been hard at work to keep LNG off our railways, by advocating to stop the dangerous Gibbstown LNG Export Project, and by pushing for a national prohibition of LNG transport by rail.
Every community in our nation deserves safety from the dangers of LNG transport by rail. These dangers loom particularly large in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where the Gibbstown LNG Export Project would entail the first large-scale rail transport of LNG in the nation if it is allowed to proceed. Gibbstown developers propose to run two trains of 100 cars each, every single day, in an over 200-mile virtual “pipeline” from a liquefaction facility in Wyalusing, PA, to the export terminal in Gibbstown, NJ. By relying on train and truck transport of LNG, developers escape the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) oversight that applies to gas pipelines (which is why NRDC and Sierra Club along with many allies have urged FERC to confirm its jurisdiction covers Gibbstown).
Securing a national prohibition on LNG-by-rail is the only way to stop massive shipments of LNG by rail across the country. Figure 1 above outlines the possible routes that LNG by rail could take. The orange patches on the map show the locations of tight oil and gas shale plays across the U.S.; these are all places where fracking is either already happening or could take place to obtain natural gas that can be liquefied into LNG. The multicolored lines on the map represent Class 1 railroads on which freight transport of hazardous materials like LNG could take place if we cannot obtain needed regulatory safeguards against this activity. And the solid red dots show the locations of existing and proposed LNG export terminals, to which oil and gas companies are looking to transport massive quantities of LNG for shipment abroad.
Based on the locations of oil and gas plays, rail lines, and existing and proposed LNG terminals, it’s not hard to surmise that if LNG transport by rail remains unchecked, huge swathes of the country could be in the danger zone of harmful LNG explosions, inextinguishable fires, and environmental contamination.
We’ve seen progress in recognition of these risks. Last year, PHMSA suspended a national regulation that would have permitted the transport of LNG by rail. In other words, LNG can no longer be transported by rail without a special permit until 2025. PHMSA also denied the Gibbstown developers’ renewal application for a special permit that would have allowed Gibbstown LNG-by-rail to move forward despite the suspension. These were critical victories in the fight against Gibbstown and against LNG transport by rail across the country.
But the fight is still not over. Just this month, developers confirmed in statements submitted to FERC that the suspension of LNG-by-rail has not stopped their plans for the Gibbstown LNG Export Project, alleging that this massive project could be supported instead by truck transport of LNG. The figures belie their claim: if the Project were to export LNG at the full capacity authorized by federal regulators, it would require over 200,000 truck trips per day from Wyalusing to Gibbstown—that’s over 70,000 more trucks than the number entering and leaving Manhattan every day. The traffic impacts and risk of having this explosive material on our roads would be astronomical, but that is assuming such operations are actually feasible. Right now, prospective LNG developers need only wait until 2025 for the suspension on LNG transport by rail to be lifted. After that, absent necessary action by PHMSA to implement a new LNG-by-rail regulation, developers could go right back to using LNG by rail to realize massive undertakings like the Gibbstown LNG Export Project, thereby endangering communities across the country.
The derailment in East Palestine showed us that we cannot rely on existing hazardous chemical regulations or general train safety laws to guarantee our safety from dangerous trail accidents. PHMSA must release a new LNG-by-rail regulation that comprehensively protects vulnerable communities, both to stop the Gibbstown Project and to ensure that we avoid another East Palestine scenario—or one that might cause even more damage.
Tell PHMSA to act promptly to halt LNG transport by rail and the Gibbstown LNG Export Project here.
