FERC Concludes LNGFIRE3 is Suitable for Siting Onshore LNG Facilities

On January 30, 2013, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) published a notice in the Federal Register of the availability of a report prepared by the Office of Energy Projects, “Recommended Parameters for Solid Flame Models for Land Based Liquefied Natural Gas Spills.”  In the report, FERC evaluates the suitability of using LNGFIRE3 in siting onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, as is currently required under the minimum federal safety standards administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).  After comparing with recommendations and parameters from a May 2012 report prepared by Sandia National Laboratories for the U.S. Department of Energy, “Liquefied Natural Gas Safety Research Report to Congress,” FERC concludes that LNGFIRE3 is suitable for such use.  In a prior report , FERC evaluated the suitability of using another model, DEGADIS, to determine the vapor-gas-dispersion exclusion zones for onshore LNG facilities under PHMSA’s siting requirements.