Environmental and community groups are calling on a state court to reject the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources’ permit allowing the construction of a methane gas liquefaction facility along the coastline at Cameron.
The Sierra Club, Louisiana Bucket Brigade and Turtle Island Restoration Network filed the lawsuit against the department and its Office of Coastal Management (OCM) on Aug. 21, arguing that the permit for Commonwealth LNG’s natural gas liquefaction plant was issued without adequate environmental assessments of adverse impacts on public health and safety.
“OCM permitted the export terminal, a facility with a peak processing capacity of 9.5 million metric tons per year and a storage capacity of 240,000 cubic meters of liquified natural gas, that will have a footprint consisting of approximately 80% valuable wetlands, and that will require dredging of 1,730,000 cubic yards of sensitive water-bottoms and wetlands, in violation of its public trust obligations,” the lawsuit filed in the 38th Judicial District Court in Cameron Parish states.
The department did not respond to a request for comment, but Commonwealth LNG, which is not a defendant in the lawsuit, expressed support for the state’s review of the project.
“Commonwealth LNG has a valid coastal use permit issued by the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources following an extensive review process that included ample opportunity for input from all parties, including the petitioners in this lawsuit,” Lyle Hanna, Commonwealth’s vice president for corporate communications, said in an email to the Louisiana Record. “While the suit is directed toward the issuing agency, and not Commonwealth LNG, we are confident that this permit was granted appropriately and will remain in force at the conclusion of these proceedings.”
In July, the federal appeals court in the District of Columbia concluded that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) had failed to fully assess environmental and health effects caused by air pollution from the Commonwealth project. In turn, the court rejected FERC’s authorization of the methane liquefaction project.
The state lawsuit criticized the project for its potential to threaten fishing and hunting activities and the breeding area for the endangered Eastern Black Rail and other bird and wildlife species. In addition, the industrial project would reduce wetland acreage and potentially lead to more hurricane and flood damage in the region, according to the lawsuit.
More than 929 acres of wetlands and cheniers would be destroyed, putting Cameron Parish and the Lake Charles area more at risk to storm surges, the complaint says. In addition, the OCM did not fully consider the extent to which the export terminal would present a higher risk of catastrophic accidents, according to the lawsuit.
“OCM’s failure to meet the legal requirements for permitting any project – let alone one whose impacts so threaten Cameron Parish and the Louisiana Coastal Zone – was arbitrary and capricious, without adequate basis, in violation of the constitutional, statutory and regulatory provisions, and its decision must be vacated and remanded for reconsideration,” the complaint says.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to reverse the OCM’s decision on the Commonwealth LNG project and award any other relief the court finds equitable.
The Turtle Island Restoration Network contends that the project would produce greenhouse gas emissions equal to 14 coal-fired power plants or 13 million new internal-combustion-engine vehicles.