New York DEC Finalizes Rules for New LNG Facilities

On Wednesday, the NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issued long-awaited regulations for the siting of new LNG facilities in the state. NY has for many years been operating under a virtual sate-wide freeze on new LNG facilities as it lacked any permitting rules. The decision means that new facilities, including those that fuel natural gas trucks, can now be considered. NGVAmerica and others in the gas industry welcomed news of the decision as a positive step toward advancing infrastructure development for NGVs and increasing the use of domestic natural gas.

New York is obviously a critical state in terms of truck traffic and energy consumption. The state is home to the third largest port facility in the U.S. and is the fourth largest state in terms of transportation fuel consumption. The state has also long been at the forefront of efforts to promote the use of NGVs in fleets such as transit buses and refuse trucks. Up until this week, New York was the only state in the country that did not have regulations in place to authorize LNG facilities. The state’s three operational LNG facilities were built under now expired rules. The adoption of rules opens up the state to new facilities and also will allow intrastate shipment of LNG loads. The proposed rules, however, do not change the current moratorium on locating new LNG facilities in New York City.