Democrats urge Obama to fast-track liquid natural gas terminals

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, normally enjoys strong support from environmentalists in his home state.

But conservation groups are not happy with a recent letter Udall and four other Senate Democrats sent to President Obama urging the administration fast-track development of liquefied natural gas terminals.

“This is terrible,” said Eleanor Bravo, southwest senior organizer for Food and Water Watch New Mexico, “We are very disappointed.”

In the two-page letter, Udall, along with his cousin, U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., U.S. Mary Landrieu, D-La., U.S. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, and U.S. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., complained about what they said is the Energy Department’s slow pace of reviewing applications for LNG export terminals, which would ship U.S.-produced natural gas to foreign markets.

“We strongly believe that the export of LNG can help the United States strengthen global energy security while generating significant economic benefits domestically in an environmentally responsible way,” the letter said.

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