Monstrous Methane Plume In Louisiana Proves Fracked Gas Is Neither Clean Nor Safe

Louisiana - Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that Louisiana environmental officials began investigating the cause of a massive methane cloud that was spotted in late January on satellite imagery. Louisiana officials suspect the source of the methane plume is from a gas pipeline leak owned by either Kinder Morgan, Energy Transfer, or Boardwalk Pipelines, though none of these companies are claiming the incident.

Louisiana alone has more than 50,000 miles of pipeline – over half of which are for transporting gas. Just last year, the Louisiana legislature passed HB 549, a law that weakened regulations on gas pipeline safety, leaks and pollution reporting. Methane is an odorless and colorless greenhouse gas that is more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in warming our climate - and is the primary element of gas.

Meanwhile, South Louisiana is still the target for at least nine new liquified gas (LNG)export terminals. The construction of these sites, adding onto the already dense fossil fuel and petrochemical industry presence of the area, would destroy vulnerable wetlands, pollute the regional environment, negatively impact public health, and significantly contribute to global warming and climate change. 

Several fossil fuel companies that are seeking to construct or do business with LNG export terminals are pitching fracked gas projects as “green” because they might include a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) mechanism. However, CCS does nothing to reduce carbon emissions from the source and is unable to capture the more dangerous and abundant methane emissions or frequent pipeline leaks..

Jessi Parfait, Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign Gulf Coast Campaign Representative, said: 

“This methane leak was so massive that it could be seen from space. This is unacceptable. Fracked gas and methane leaks pose serious risks to our health and climate, but are too often treated like one-off events but they can have lasting or compounding effects on our lives. While this event is particularly severe, Louisiana is already forced to live through an exorbitant amount of pollution daily from fossil fuel and petrochemical plants, especially in communities of color and fenceline communities. It all adds up. All pollution, from enormous plumes spotted from space, to routine emissions from daily operations, impact our lives, and fossil fuel corporations must be held accountable for the harm they cause.”

Josh Smith, Senior Attorney for Sierra Club, said: 

“This terrible methane emission event could have been prevented, but the state of Louisiana chose corporate power and profit over the health and safety of its people when it weakened its already too-relaxed enforcement on pipeline leaks. It is ludicrous that Louisiana continues to welcome even more dangerous industry projects when it has weakened protections for its people or environment from existing industry. Louisiana deserves better. Sierra Club is monitoring this situation and will ensure that whoever is responsible for the methane leak is held accountable.”