ELR Citation: ELR 20105
No(s). 05-60321 (5th Cir. Jun 8, 2006)

The court denies a petition for review challenging the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary's decision to grant a license for a liquefied natural gas facility in the Gulf of Mexico. The DOT's environmental impact statement for the project complies with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Secretary did not act arbitrarily or abuse his discretion in concluding that the effects of three potential future projects in the Gulf of Mexico were too speculative to consider in evaluating the cumulative impact of the licensing decision under NEPA. Nor did the Secretary violate the Deepwater Port Act by failing to require that the proposed facility use a closed loop system rather than an open loop system. The Act's requirement that the applicant demonstrate that it will construct the port using the best technology "so as to prevent or minimize adverse impact on the marine environment" is best read to require construction that reasonably minimizes adverse impact to a reasonable degree given all relevant circumstances, including costs.