FERC Nominees Testify Before Senate Committee; Senators Voice Concerns About Increased Gas Exports

Anthony T. Clark and FERC Commissioner John R. Norris, both nominated for FERC Commissioner appointments, testified yesterday before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. According to a report in Bloomberg BNA [subscription required],  both are expected to be confirmed.  During the hearing, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) chided FERC for being too lax in its environmental review of LNG terminal projects and proposed that FERC apply a “finding in the national interest” standard before such projects could be approved. Commissioner Norris responded that he could support such a standard for new LNG terminals but applying the standard to proposals to modify existing terminals for exports would be “a stretch.”

On a related issue, LNG Daily [subscription required] reported today that Senators Wyden (D-Ore.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) expressed concerns yesterday about potential rising gas prices that could result from increasing gas exports. Senator Wyden called for a “time-out” on U.S. Department of Energy approval of gas export permits until the domestic energy security, national security and price and environmental impacts of increased gas exports can be assessed.