Department of Energy files appeal to continue pause on new LNG exports

The Department of Energy is appealing a recent court decision that lifted the agency's pause on new liquified natural gas exports to certain countries, intensifying a legal fight between Republican states and industry players on the one hand and the Biden administration and environmentalist allies on the other.

Several top DOE officials filed a notice of appeal Monday to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, aiming to reverse a recent decision from a federal judge overturning the agency’s freeze on new LNG export approvals to non-free trade agreement countries.

Critics of the pause have argued it is unconstitutional and would hurt the fossil fuel industry. Environmentalists, on the other hand, cheered the move after it was announced in January. They have said that an increase in exports could increase levels of greenhouse gas emissions. The pause was instituted for the administration to study the climate effects of projects before approving exports.

Last month, Judge James Cain of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, a Trump appointee, stayed the agency’s export pause, arguing the move goes against the language of the Natural Gas Act and undermines the legislative branch’s “determination that LNG exports are presumptively in the public interest.”

Some environmentalists had downplayed the significance of Cain’s decision, saying it wouldn’t have any immediate effect on the permits in the queue for LNG export projects or the DOE’s study evaluating the environmental and economic impact of exports. They argued the agency would still have to evaluate each project to see if it aligns with the public’s interest.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The original lawsuit was filed by officials from 16 GOP states who claimed the administration overstepped its authority when it initiated the pause.

Liz Murrill, the attorney general for Louisiana, one of the states in the lawsuit, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner that the Biden administration's appeal was "not a surprise, but we expect the injunction to be upheld since the administration has no legal basis for pausing the approval of LNG export applications."