IN-DEPTH: With LNG Export Pause, DOE’s Expanded Permit Reviews Narrow Focus on Local Impacts

Across four decades of Democratic and Republican administrations, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) has determined that exporting domestically produced liquified natural gas (LNG) serves the “public interest” by generating jobs and positive national economic benefits, strengthening national energy security, and reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.

The Biden administration’s Jan. 26 implementation of a “temporary pause” in approving LNG exports until the DOE completes “a review to consider climate impacts of natural gas” also expands “public interest” scrutiny to a narrowed focus: the economic and environmental impacts of energy development on residents and communities.

House Republicans steadfastly maintain the LNG regulatory lockdown damages the “public interest” by jeopardizing jobs, creating planning and investing uncertainty, stunting industry-paid taxes that fund local governments and school districts while inadvertently increasing carbon emissions the administration seeks to reduce and endangering national security.

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