China Joe Bans Transporting Natural Gas By Rail

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In a federal filing Friday ahead of the holiday weekend, the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) formally suspended the 2020 authorization of LNG transportation in rail tank cars. The rule will remain in effect until either a permanent rule regarding LNG rail tank car transportation is proposed and finalized — a process that may take several months — or June 30, 2025. "We are encouraged by the decision to suspend the dangerous practice of transporting highly flammable LNG by rail through communities," said Patrick Grenter, the director of eco group Sierra Club's Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign.

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The Sierra Club and several other environmental organizations, like Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council and Food & Water Watch, have argued that allowing LNG transportation could lead to mass devastation. They have stated LNG is highly flammable and vulnerable to devastating explosions which could destroy communities which railroads cut through. Democratic lawmakers, led by Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., wrote to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg earlier this year asking for a permanent ban on LNG transportation via rail and pointed to safety risks cited by environmental groups.

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This victory can, and must, go deeper," Matt Smith, a director with Food & Water Watch, said in a statement. "The Biden administration should take action to eliminate the threat of fracked gas bomb trains entirely, and it must do more to stop new fossil fuel projects across the country."

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