BALTIMORE - Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 14 Attorneys General, including Delaware's Kathy Jennings, in opposition of a special request permit to ship cryogenic liquefied ethane in rail tank cars from a facility in Marcus Hook, Pa., to undisclosed locations across North America.
The request came from Gas Innovations LNG Refrigerants Inc. The coalition asserts that the application to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration should be denied because it fails to provide basic information concerning the proposed shipments and would risk the safety of communities along rail lines nationwide. Opponents also say the application does not clearly identify what operational controls like speed limits and braking requirements would apply to shipments to decrease the risk of derailment.
"The application's vagueness makes it impossible to determine whether already overburdened communities will be asked to bear the brunt of those safety concerns, and it renders fair and equitable treatment of those communities to an afterthought," said Attorney General Brown. "The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has a duty to deny Gas Innovations' anemic application for a special permit to transport ethane by rail car because it simply does not provide for public safety."
Concerns have been shared by officials in the past regarding regulations that eventually authorized the the shipment of liquefied natural gas by rail in 2020. This most recent round of opposition comes after a train carrying toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, derailed on Feb 3., sparking nationwide interest and health concerns for residents of the town.
The office of Maryland's Attorney General said that ethane, a colorless, odorless, and highly flammable hydrocarbon gas, is a commonly used feedstock in the petrochemical industry, which refines and processes petroleum and natural gas. Shipping cryogenic ethane introduces challenges, as any release of cargo is likely to lead to the formation of cold and highly flammable ground-hugging vapor clouds. These clouds would present safety risks to nearby communities and first responders.
Regulations do not currently authorize the transportation of ethane in rail tank cars and critics say that Gas Innovations' application includes no data suggesting that it can be transported safely by rail.
Attorney General Brown says that "approval of this application would be a serious blow to environmental justice."