An appeals court is facing calls from Republican members of Congress to reconsider its decision to nix federal approvals for a pair of planned liquefied natural gas export terminals in south Texas.
Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Dan Crenshaw, both Texas Republicans, are leading a new friend of the court brief calling for a new hearing to review the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s authorizations for the Texas LNG project, as well as Rio Grande LNG and its associated Rio Bravo pipeline.
In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered FERC to redo part of its National Environmental Policy Act analysis for the projects because of “the seriousness of the Commission’s procedural defects.” The court specifically pointed to the commission’s failure to account for how disadvantaged communities would be harmed by the LNG terminals and gas pipeline.
Environmentalists who had fought to stop the projects had lauded the decision as a “win for environmental justice.” Addressing environmental justice refers to efforts to alleviate pollution that takes a disproportionately heavy toll on communities of color as well as low-income and rural areas.
