Summary: The siting and safety of liquefied energy gases (LEG) facilities are a cause for concern, and need to be improved. GAO found that many large LEG storage facilities are a serious hazard to the surrounding area. The level of natural phenomena that LEG facilities are designed to withstand will almost certainly be exceeded at a large number of facilities in the next 50 years, with the possibility that one or more of them will fail. Security procedures and physical barriers at LEG facilities are generally not adequate to deter even an untrained saboteur. The storage facilities have not been designed, built, operated, or maintained in the safest manner possible. LEG transportation is not safe or secure, and the amount of LEG moved through densely populated areas increases the danger to the public. The least vulnerable method of LEG transportation is by double-hulled ship. Many large storage facilities have not been subjected to Federal regulation at all, in part due to a failure of cognizant agencies to fully assert their authority. GAO believes that remote siting and increased safety and security regulations are the measures needed to circumvent serious hazards to life and property.
