Bill would give local governments LNG veto

Federal lawmakers announced plans to propose legislation to give local governments veto power on proposed liquid natural gas facilities, heeding the concerns of Maryland officials battling a terminal planned for Baltimore?s Sparrows Point peninsula.

U.S. Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin, both Maryland Democrats, said Tuesday that the bill would give state and local governments greater input in the LNG approval process, currently the sole authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The news came one day after Gov. Martin O?Malley and Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith criticized the process as exclusive and invasive.