Review - HR 7556 Introduced – LNG Oversight Coordination

Last month Rep Webber (R,TX) introduced HR 7556, the LNG Coordination Act of 2024. The bill would require the DOT to establish the Liquefied Natural Gas Regulatory Safety Working Group (LNGRSWG). The Working Group would “clarify the authority of covered agencies in the authorizing and oversight of LNG facilities, other than peak shaving facilities, and improve coordination of the authority of such agencies”. No new funding is authorized by this legislation.

Moving Forward

Both Webber and his sole cosponsor {Rep Fletcher (D,TX)} are members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to which this bill was assigned for secondary consideration. Neither are members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to which the bill was assigned for primary consideration. This means that while there may be sufficient influence to see the bill considered in the E&C Committee, there is probably not sufficient influence in the T&I Committee. The bills generally do not move to the floor of the House without the acquiescence of the committee assigned primary consideration.

There will be some opposition to this bill from environmentalists who would object to just about anything that makes it easier to expand petrochemical operations. While that opposition would have almost no affect in committee considerations, it could make it difficult to have the bill considered under suspension of the rules where a supermajority is necessary for passage. Without an influential cosponsor on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee there is no way that this bill would move to the floor for consideration.

Commentary

There are two major actors missing in the Working Group membership. The EPA has some oversight responsibilities for LNG facilities through its RMP program and various chemical release regulations. Admittedly this is not as big an influence on LNG facility operations as the other members of the Working Group, but adding the EPA would alleviate some potential concerns of more mainstream environmentalists. DHS is the other agency that should be on the Working Group list, even though security is not mentioned anywhere in the bill. DHS has direct impact on LNG facilities through the TSA (pipeline security issues), CISA (the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards, if/when it is reinstated), and the Coast Guard (through MTSA facilities oversight and LNG shipping regulations).

 

For more details about the provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-7556-introduced - subscription required.