WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania’s Democratic senators are voicing their concerns with the Biden Administration’s pause on pending approvals of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.

On Thursday, a joint statement from U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman remarked on Biden’s Jan. 26th ruling, pointing out that if Pennsylvania is negatively impacted, they will push for a reversal.

“Pennsylvania is an energy state,” the statement began. “As the second largest natural gas-producing state, this industry has created good-paying energy jobs in towns and communities across the Commonwealth and has played a critical role in promoting U.S. energy independence.

“While the immediate impacts on Pennsylvania remain to be seen, we have concerns about the long-term impacts that this pause will have on the thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry,” the senators said. “If this decision puts Pennsylvania energy jobs at risk, we will push the Biden Administration to reverse this decision.”

On Jan. 26, the White House announced the administration was temporarily pausing pending decisions on exports of LNG to non-Free Trade Agreement countries until the Department of Energy can update the underlying analyses for authorizations.

“The current economic and environmental analyses DOE uses to underpin its LNG export authorizations are roughly five years old and no longer adequately account for considerations like potential energy cost increases for American consumers and manufacturers beyond current authorizations or the latest assessment of the impact of greenhouse gas emissions,” the White House press release stated.

Environmental concerns, an evolving understanding of the market need for LGN, and its long-term supply were given as reasons.