Louisiana AG joins critical letter on LNG freeze

A coalition of about two dozen state attorneys general sent a letter to President Joe Biden Tuesday blasting the president’s recent decision to freeze the approval of new export sites for liquefied natural gas.
Biden announced the freeze last month, citing climate change concerns. The attorneys general called on Biden to end the pause, saying it will hurt the economy, national security, and violated federal law.
“Your administration’s planned ‘pause’ – which we might more accurately call a series of constructive denials – of most American LNG exports is unlawful for several reasons,” the letter said.
The attorneys general goes on to lay out those reasons, saying the Department of Energy does not have legal authority to writ large deny the export permits.
The letter also points out the agency did not go through the standard rulemaking procedure, a lengthy process that allows input from stakeholders.
“Generally, agency legislative rules must go through the APA’s notice-and-comments procedures,” the letter said. “And the pause here is a substantive rule required to go through that process.
"The pause effectively commands the Department to stop performing its obligations under the NGA to approve export applications and does not leave the agency free to exercise discretion unless it chooses to disobey the policy.
“That’s the exact type of substantive rule that needs to go through notice and comment because it modifies substantial rights,” the letter adds.
The letter comes the same day that House Energy and Commerce Chair Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, R-Wash., held a hearing Tuesday on the export pause.
State attorneys general signing Tuesday’s letter come from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.