LNG Industry Speaks Out Against SB 426

LNG proponents fired back against SB 426 (which would rank proposed LNG projects using several factors including risk to public safety) in a published letter to the editor in the Los Angeles Times yesterday:

August 27, 2006

Re "The LNG scramble," editorial, Aug. 22

In more than 33,000 liquefied natural gas carrier voyages spanning more than four decades, there has not been a serious accident. No explosions or fatalities from an LNG cargo spill have ever occurred aboard an LNG carrier.

Each proposed LNG terminal is undergoing extensive review by every level of government from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Coast Guard to local fire departments and harbor police. To pass this review, LNG terminals and their tankers must comply with stringent clean air rules and regulations to ensure that such emissions have minimal impact.

Far from a "blind decision," an LNG terminal could not be more carefully and thoroughly studied. SB 426 would only result in senseless delays that could lead to even higher gas and electricity rates for California consumers.

BILL COOPER

Executive Director

Center for Liquefied Natural Gas

Washington

Approving LNG is not a 'Blind Decision' [Los Angeles Times]