Washington (Platts)--21Jun2005
US Senator Dianne Feinstein (Democrat-California) said she will introduce an amendment Wednesday to the Senate version of a broad energy bill that would give state governors authority to veto or modify liquefied natural gas terminals proposed for their states. "Given the sensitive nature of LNG facilities relating to security, I truly believe that states should have a say where these facilities should be built," Feinstein said in a statement Tuesday.
The amendment "does not require that the applicant duplicate the application process," the senator said, nor will it add time and money to the process. "It simply states that governors will have 45 days to approve, veto or attach conditions to a project after FERC issues its final environmental impact statement."
Feinstein and Sen Olympia Snowe (Republican-Maine) last month introduced legislation that would require "concurrent state and federal jurisdiction" over siting of onshore LNG terminals. In addition to Snowe, Feinstein said her amendment will be cosponsored by Sens Jack Reed (Democrat- hode Island), Jeff Sessions (Republican-Alabama), Susan Collins (Republican-Maine), Edward Kennedy (Democrat-Massachusetts), Christopher Dodd (Democrat-Connecticut), Barbara Boxer (Democrat-California), Hillary Clinton (Democrat-New York), Joseph Lieberman (Democrat-Connecticut), John Kerry (Democrat-Massachusetts), and Maria Cantwell (Democrat-Washington). "This amendment will not prevent LNG facilities from being built--it will just ensure that they are built where they pose the least risk to the public," Feinstein said.
This story was originally published in Platts Natural Gas Alert
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