A federal appeals court has rejected a legal challenge from environmental litigation nonprofits seeking to overturn the Biden Administration’s approval of liquefied natural gas exports from the proposed $44 billion Alaska LNG Project.
In a unanimous decision, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the Department of Energy did not violate the National Environmental Policy Act when it approved the exports from the Alaska LNG Project, despite its inability to quantify the project’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions.
The ruling affirms DOE’s 2023 decision to greenlight exports to countries without free trade agreements with the United States, marking the culmination of a years-long regulatory journey that began in 2014.
The Alaska LNG Project, proposed by a consortium that includes the State of Alaska, involves constructing a gas treatment plant on Alaska’s North Slope, an 800-mile pipeline crossing the state, and a liquefaction facility on the Kenai Peninsula. From there, natural gas would be shipped by tanker to international markets, primarily for use in power generation.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has been engaged with numerous leaders in Asia to promote Alaska natural gas.
In 2015, the Department of Energy had conditionally approved exports to non-free trade countries, pending further environmental analysis. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission later conducted an exhaustive review, culminating in a 1,500-page environmental impact statement in 2020.
That review addressed a wide array of ecological and socio-economic factors, including impacts on wetlands, wildlife, permafrost, and even the scenic quality of Denali National Park.
The Sierra Club and Center for Biological Diversity sued the final approval that was issued in April 2023, arguing that the agency misinterpreted the “public interest” requirement under the Natural Gas Act and failed to fully assess the environmental impacts, particularly those related to climate change.
The court rejected those arguments and said that DOE’s reliance on the earlier FERC impact statement, which was already upheld by the DC Circuit in a 2023 decision, was lawful. The judges agreed with the agency’s conclusion that certain analyses, such as estimating emissions from LNG use in foreign countries, would be too speculative to inform regulatory decisions.
The court also noted that DOE’s supplemental 275-page impact review, released in January 2023 to comply with President Biden’s Executive Order 13990, did not indicate any defect in the original environmental review.
“Congress has expressed a preference for natural gas exports, provided domestic supply remains abundant,” the court stated, citing the Natural Gas Act’s presumption in favor of export approvals.
While the environmental litigation industry may pursue additional legal avenues, the court’s ruling presents a significant roadblock. The decision effectively clears another major legal hurdle for one of the most ambitious energy infrastructure projects in US history.
Global greenhouse emissions, the left want everyone but them to curl up in a ball and die to save the planet that doesn’t need saving. The good news is the left isn’t re producing so hopefully in 100 years they will be mostly gone.
The Sierra Club. Of course.
You can also add another 50-75 other non-profit environmental, wild life and sport clubs that think the earth will “disappear”. I am not against the wild life, they’ll survive, They always have through the centuries.
Funny how petroleum based energy produced in the US will cause climate change but if it’s from any other country it’s okay. Not sure of the science behind that other than to damage our economy.
Comments above represent conventional whining but miss the obvious: the judiciary upheld approval.
Where’s the whine-a-thon about like break judges,etc., etc.?
I’m not whining Joe. What exactly is wrong with you ?? There is a difference between a comment and a (whine thon) what ever that is. The judiciary did the correct thing for a change.
You’re whining still.