Federal energy regulators gave the green light to a liquefied natural gas (LNG) and export plant in Cameron Parish last month, prompting Louisiana environmentalists and local fisheries to express dismay at the anticipated consequences of the project.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) gave its unanimous backing to the energy project proposed by Texas-based Commonwealth LNG on Nov. 17. In response, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade expressed concern that local fisheries and disadvantaged communities would be disproportionately affected by the project.
“We've been actively working to halt the build-out of these gas export terminals, as they are suicidal and will greatly impact any effort to curb emissions which cause climate change,” James Hiatt, the brigade’s Southwest Louisiana coordinator, told the Louisiana Record in an email. “These terminals emit millions of tons of greenhouse gases, and Commonwealth alone would emit over 3 million tons per year.”
The Commonwealth construction zone has been hit by two major hurricanes, according to Hiatt. And the projected greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the project don’t include methane leakage and other emissions from hydraulic fracturing, he said.
“Doubling down on our collective continued reliance on fossil fuels is not clean, and it’s definitely not green,” Hiatt said.
In a state where more than 70% of electricity is generated by natural gas, it makes little sense economically or ecologically to export even more of this type of fossil fuel, he said.
John Allaire, a veteran of the oil and gas industry who has property adjacent to the proposed Commonwealth LNG project, questions whether FERC oversight of such facilities is adequate.
“It is time for FERC to put more effort into inspection and compliance of existing facilities and spend less time on authorization of additional export terminals,” Allaire said in a statement.
FERC’s order authorizing the Commonwealth project concludes that it is not inconsistent with the public interest and emphasizes that compliance with numerous environmental conditions will limit negative impacts.