(CN) — Sixteen states, led by Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi, say in a lawsuit filed Thursday that the Biden administration's January ban on issuing new permits to export liquefied natural gas unlawfully disrupts the industry and ignores regulatory processes.
The states filed their suit in Louisiana federal court in Lake Charles and are asking a judge to overrule a temporary pause issued in January.
Calling the ban an election year stunt brought on by the “whims of activists,” the 64-page lawsuit notes a Biden-Administration decision from just several months earlier in July 2023 that purportedly determined “there is no factual or legal basis” for pausing liquified natural gas exports.
Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi are joined in their challenge to the Biden administration by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
The states say the pause in new approvals for liquified natural gas exports violates the Department of Energy’s authority under the Natural Gas Act because the act requires the agency to prove projects are inconsistent with the public interest before applications can be denied.
The pause was issued by the Biden Administration following monthslong efforts by environmentalists and youth groups to urge the president to slow down or stop approvals for liquified natural gas, which they claim will drastically increase pollution and the world’s dependence on oil and gas.
“Now—in the midst of an election year, and after a sustained pressure campaign from billionaire conglomerates, celebrities, ‘influencers,’ and banks— the Biden Administration acts as if its July 2023 decision does not exist," the states say. "The administration likewise ignores the Natural Gas Act’s presumption in favor of exports, decades of agency policy, and state and private reliance on exports.”
The states additionally argue that the pause in exports “will cost thousands of Louisiana jobs and will deprive the state of significant revenues.”
The U.S. is the world's largest exporter of liquified natural gas, which is created when gas is super-cooled so that it becomes liquid, and can be loaded onto tankers for shipment worldwide. Many of the export facilities are located on the Gulf Coast.
The states involved argue the pause will adversely affect efforts to supply liquified natural gas to Europe as it attempts to stop using oil piped in from Russia.
In late January when the halt was announced, the White House said it was pausing permits for exports to non-Federal Trade Association countries until the Energy Department had updated its analysis on the impact of the projects seeking approval. The fuel is in high demand in Europe and Asia.
In Europe, only four countries — Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein — still belong to the Free Trade Association.
“Today, we have an evolving understanding of the market need for LNG, the long-term supply of LNG and the perilous impacts of methane on our planet,” the White House said in a statement issued on Jan. 26, when the temporary pause was put forth.
“We also must adequately guard against risks to the health or our communities, especially frontline communities in the United States who disproportionately shoulder the burden of pollution from new export facilities. The pause, which is subject to exception for unanticipated and immediate national security emergencies, will provide the time to integrate these critical considerations,” the White House added.
The Department of Energy did not immediately reply to emailed requests for comment.
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