Judge James Cain on Monday temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s pause on approving new gas export projects while the case against it plays out.
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© Martha Irvine, Associated Press file
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Cain, a Trump appointee, wrote that the pause will “be stayed in its entirety, effective immediately.”
He said the policy “is irreparably harming” the states that challenged it, saying that Louisiana, Texas and West Virginia face “the loss of revenues, market share, and deprivation of a procedural right.”
The background:
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The Biden administration announced in January that it would temporarily stop authorizing new projects to ship natural gas to countries that don’t have free trade agreements with the U.S.
- The pause, which was being done while the administration updated its criteria for approving projects, does not impact existing exports.
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Gas exports are politically charged, with progressive environmental advocates urging the administration not to approve new fossil fuel infrastructure.
The Biden administration still may not necessarily approve new projects just because the policy was lifted. An Energy Department spokesperson said it “continues to review the court’s order and evaluate next steps.”
White House spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández said, “We remain committed to informing our decisions with the best available economic and environmental analysis, underpinned by sound science.”
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
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Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.
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