01.07.15

Hoeven Cosponsors Bipartisan Bill to Set Clear Timeline for LNG Export Applications

Bill Would Help Reduce Flaring, Create Jobs, Improve National Security

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the U.S. Senate Energy Committee, this week joined a bipartisan group of senators in introducing legislation to improve the approval process for exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that do not have free trade agreements with the United States. The LNG Permitting Certainty and Transparency Act requires the Secretary of Energy to make a decision on any LNG export application within 45 days of a completed environmental review document.

“This legislation sets a clear timeline for the Energy Department to make decisions on LNG export permits, which will speed up and provide greater certainty in the permitting process,” said Hoeven. “LNG exports will help to reduce flaring, create good jobs and help improve our national security by providing energy to our friends and allies.” 

The bill is similar to the LNG Certainty Act, legislation authored by Hoeven in the last Congress that required DOE to make a decision within 45 days of a company completing an LNG export application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Currently, companies apply to both FERC and DOE to receive a LNG permit, with the FERC application normally taking between six months to a year to file. Many permits have been pending at the DOE for more than two years. In December, Hoeven’s LNG Certainty Act was set for a vote in the Energy Committee. However, the Secretary of Energy called Hoeven to work with him on the legislation in the new congress. The legislation introduced this week reflects language developed through this collaboration.     

The LNG Permitting Certainty and Transparency Act was introduced by Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M) and cosponsored by Senators Hoeven, Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.).

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