NextDecade's Rio Grande LNG project has been stalled by a federal appeals court ruling that the original approval failed to adequately consider the Brownsville, Texas, plant's impact on climate change or on area minority and low-income residents.
The court asked FERC to revisit its environmental review but did not invalidate the original approval.
"It is patently clear that an ongoing, 18-month process to
address two questions remanded to the Commission is
inexcusable," NextDecade's chief executive, Matthew Schatzman,
wrote in a letter.
He called on FERC Chairman Willie Phillips to put the
project on the commission's meeting agenda this month. The
inaction "far exceeds the length of time FERC has taken to
respond to other federal appellate court remands," wrote
Schatzman.
A FERC spokesperson declined to comment on matters before the commission.
NextDecade did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the letter or whether the delay would affect its plan to soon begin major expenditures.
The company has said it expects to move ahead with financial approval for the first phase of the about $15.7 billion project this quarter after signing customer agreements for about 70% of the initial capacity. (Reporting by Gary McWilliams in Houston Editing by Matthew Lewis)
