Shapiro opposes federal proposal for rail transport of liquefied natural gas

Pennsylvania became one of 15 states to oppose the shipping of liquefied natural gas by train when state Attorney General Josh Shapiro co-signed a letter calling the practice potentially catastrophic.

A proposed rule by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) would allow the bulk transport of refrigerated liquid methane, or liquefied natural gas, by nationwide rail. The rule could potentially see the flammable and odorless liquefied natural gas transported through densely populated areas in unit trains of up to 100 tank cars operated by one person and on the same rail lines used by high-speed passenger trains.

Attorneys general from 15 states and the District of Columbia said the rule included “inadequate safety precautions.”

“Because the agency has failed to properly analyze the public safety and environmental impacts of allowing [liquefied natural gas] shipment via rail tank car, the states urge PHMSA to withdraw the proposed rule,” the letter says. “Proceeding with the proposed rule would put the states’ residents, first responders and environmental resources at greater risk of catastrophic accidents, a dynamic which PHMSA has failed to adequately analyze just as it has failed to consider the environmental and climate impacts of allowing [liquefied natural gas] to be shipped in rail tank cars.”

Robert L. Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation and Safety Board, submitted a letter opposing the rule in December, saying “the risk of catastrophic [liquified natural gas] releases in accidents is too great not to have operational controls in place before large blocks of tank cars and unit trains proliferate.”

The letter opposing the administration’s rule was signed by state attorneys general of Maryland, New York, California, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia.