Help us send a powerful message to President Biden and United States Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttiegieg to ban the transport of liquified natural gas (LNG) throughout the U.S by railway. Citing serious environmental risks and public safety & health concerns, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is calling for the suspension of a Trump-era regulation that allowed the country-wide bulk transportation of LNG by rail.
LNG is highly volatile and flammable, and transporting these highly explosive substances through communities leads to inevitable disaster. In fact, trains carrying LNG cargo have been unflatteringly nicknamed 'bomb-trains' for the immense destruction they cause when things go wrong.
Petition to DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg and President Biden to stop LNG by Rail
We, the undersigned, call upon the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and President Biden to prevent the transport of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) by rail on the nation’s railways. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is proposing to suspend the Trump-era regulation that allowed bulk transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by railcar anywhere in the nation based on public safety and health concerns and environmental risks (the “Suspension Rule”).[2] Following the close of public comment in December 2021, there has been repeated delays in the adoption of the Suspension Rule. We highlight a PHMSA Special Permit to transport LNG by substandard railcars through Pennsylvania and New Jersey communities including dense populations in Reading, Allentown, Philadelphia, PA and Camden, NJ for export overseas[1] to Gibbstown NJ that expired November 2021. The company has applied for a renewal; we call upon DOT and PHMSA to deny the Special Permit. We call for the Suspension Rule to be immediately finalized, for all Special Permits to be denied, and for the complete ban on LNG by Rail to be reinstated through federal rulemaking. Our communities must be protected from the threat to their safety posed by LNG transportation by rail.
[1] Special Permit DOT-SP 20534, U.S. Dept. of Transp., Pipeline & Haz. Mat. Safety Admin. (Issued December 5, 2019. https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/safe-transportation-energy-products/dot-20534-pdf
[2] Hazardous Materials: Suspension of HMR Amendments Authorizing Transportation of Liquefied Natural Gas by Rail, Pipeline & Haz. Mat. Safety Admin., 86 Fed. Reg. 61,731 (Nov. 8, 2021).
