Law360, New York ( July 7, 2014, 11:41 AM EDT) -- The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced that it proposes to revamp the order in which it will process applications to export liquefied natural gas, making its "public interest determination" of the exported commodity only after a project clears an environmental review process. In the same announcement, the DOE also stated that it will conduct a further economic study of potential U.S. LNG exports, a process that previously tapped the breaks on DOE authorizations. The DOE's actions raised immediate questions: Is the DOE judiciously applying lessons learned that will have limited impact on projects seeking approval, or is the agency seeking a reprieve from its engagement in the increasingly politicized debate over LNG exports?...