Dianne Phillips is a Partner in Holland &
Knight's
Boston office
On June 6, 2019, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation (PHMSA) announced the availability
for comment of its draft Environmental Assessment for a Special Permit to
transport liquefied natural gas (LNG) by rail. This follows
President Trump's Executive Order described in our blog but relates to a
long-pending request by Energy Transport Solutions, LLC (ETS) for a
Special Permit. Comments are due by July 8,
2019, and may be submitted online via www.regulations.gov
to Docket No. PHMSA-2019-0100.
ETS seeks the special permit to transport LNG by rail in
specialized tanks cars known as DOT-113s to customers who are
principally exporters of LNG to foreign markets in unit train
configurations of up to 100 tanks cars. Currently LNG may be
transported by truck when properly packaged in specialized
insulated cargo tank trailers, but similar rail
