"The Department of Energy has issued a final rule rolling back liquefied natural gas project reviews under a landmark environmental law, the latest in a string of Trump administration actions aimed at overhauling the federal approach to the National Environmental Policy Act.
The rule would exempt liquefied natural gas facilities from NEPA review at DOE through so-called categorical exclusions and is aimed at boosting an industry that has faced headwinds amid a slump in global energy demand brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
A pre-publication preview of the rule posted to the Federal Register yesterday said that because DOE lacks the authority to approve the construction or operation of LNG export facilities, it does not need to review their environmental impacts."
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