Docket No. CP95-35-000
I concur in today’s Order, and write separately only to address Commissioner Danly’s misgivings regarding the Commission’s authority to oversee the operational safety of LNG facilities.[1]
In my concurrence in the Commission’s September 24, 2021, Order Establishing Briefing in this matter, I explained in detail why the Commission's authority to regulate operational safety at LNG facilities is beyond serious question.[2] In a nutshell, our authority rests on the broad authorizing language in the Natural Gas Act (NGA), complementary language in other relevant federal statutes, and nearly forty years of consistent agency interpretation and practice.
This matter perfectly illustrates how prescient Congress was in directing the Commission to ensure the safe design and operation of LNG facilities. A series of increasingly large earthquakes has struck Puerto Rico in recent years, the most severe of which occurred near EcoEléctrica's LNG terminal on January 7, 2020, and measured 6.4 in magnitude. In response, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted additional research, which led to the discovery of new subsea faults that may extend to existing onshore faults.[3] Puerto Rico’s actual experience on January 7, 2020, as well as the new research, showed that seismic risks to EcoEléctrica’s LNG tank – and therefore risks to public safety – were substantially greater than those reflected in the pre-2003 data used in originally designing the LNG tank. There was no guidebook for responding to this unprecedented situation. It took the unparalleled expertise and good judgment of the Commission’s Office of Energy Projects staff to navigate through the complex scientific, engineering, safety, and reliability issues at stake.
Over the decades, the Commission has built a robust LNG safety regulatory program, just as Congress envisioned. We are all the better for it.
For these reasons, I respectfully concur.