Environmental groups are blasting an initiative from the Trump administration they see as opening the door to more shipments of natural gas by train.
It’s the latest development in a yearslong debate over how liquefied natural gas, or LNG, can be transported from where it’s produced to where it’s used. Opponents call trains shipping the supercooled gas “bomb trains.” Supporters call them “rolling pipelines.”
Trump administration officials at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration asked for public comments on whether there might be commercial interest in shipping LNG. The gas is liquefied by supercooling it to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit.
“The transportation of LNG by rail is known to be dangerous to communities and to help drive climate change,” Mark Izeman, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a comment dated Aug. 1.
