New York DEC Reopens Comment Period for LNG Infrastructure Rules

Persons interested in commenting on New York’s proposal to establish procedures for siting, constructing and operating LNG facilities will now have another opportunity to do so. Under the latest reopening, comments may be submitted through December 12. The regulations initially were proposed in 2013 and NGVAmerica and many members submitted comments in support of the regulations. New York currently is the only state in the country that does not have regulations in place to authorize such facilities. The state’s three operational LNG facilities were built under now expired rules. The adoption of the new rules would open up the state to new facilities and also allow for intrastate shipment of LNG loads. The proposed rules do not change the current moratorium on siting LNG facilities in municipalities with populations of more than one million (i.e. New York City).

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) reopening of the comment period is intended to give parties an opportunity to comment on revisions that have been made to last year’s proposal. According to the DEC, the primary revision relates to limiting permits to LNG facilities that have a capacity of no more than 70,000 gallons, a threshold that had previously been in place under earlier versions of the code recognized by the National Fire Protection Association rules. NFPA latest standards allow single LNG tanks to have a capacity of up to 100,000 gallons.