Motion to Intervene of Sierra Club under CP12-498.

Statement of Christopher Smith Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil and Natural Gas Office of Fossil Energy U.S. Department of Energy Before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources United States Senate The Department of Energys Role in Liquefied Natural Gas Export Applications November 8, 2011 Thank you Chairman Bingaman, Ranking Member Murkowski, and members of the Committee; I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to discuss the Department of Energys (DOE) program regulating the export of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG). DOEs Statutory Authority DOEs authority to regulate the export of natural gas arises under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act, 15 USC 717b, and section 301(b) of the DOE Organization Act, 42 USC 7151. That authority is vested in the Secretary of Energy and has been delegated to the Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy. Section 3(a) of the Natural Gas Act sets forth the standard for review of most LNG export applications: [N]o person shall export any natural gas from the United States to a foreign country or import any natural gas from a foreign country without first having secured an order of the [Secretary of Energy] authorizing it to do so. The [Secretary] shall issue such order upon application, unless after opportunity for hearing, [he] finds that the proposed exportation or importation will not be consistent with the public interest. The [Secretary] may by [the Secretarys] order grant such application, in whole or part, with such modification and upon such terms and conditions as the [Secretary] may find necessary or appropriate. Section 3(a) thus creates a rebuttable presumption that a proposed export of natural gas is in the public interest, and requires DOE to grant an export application unless DOE finds that the record in the proceeding of the application overcomes that presumption. Section 3(a) also authorizes DOE to attach terms or conditions to the order that the Secretary finds are necessary or appropriate to protect the public interest. In the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct 92), Congress introduced a new section 3(c) to the Natural Gas Act. Section 3(c) created a different standard of review for applications to export natural gas, including LNG, to those countries with which the United States has in effect a free trade agreement requiring the national treatment for trade in natural gas. Section 3(c) requires such applications to be deemed consistent with the public interest, and requires such applications to be granted without ...