Long Beach Council Pushes Back Against FERC

The City Council of Long Beach has fired the first shot against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in what will certainly be intergovernmental warfare over liquefied natural gas:

"I do not believe you're going to find communities and cities lining up to get on the LNG bandwagon," she said. "I would submit that perhaps that's why the feds are so interested in eminent domain."

Tuesday's council debate came hours after a U.S. Senate committee hearing in Washington at which FERC officials again expressed their interest in taking control of LNG siting decisions nationwide. FERC officials argue that since they already regulate imported energy sources, they should have more say over a growing number of proposed LNG terminals.

Because of its proximity to the Port of Los Angeles, it's surprising that the neither L.A. City Council nor any of the five candidates for Mayor have weighed in on this issue.