Shannon Van Hoesen, shannon.vanhoesen@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) agreed to expand the capacity of Freeport LNG, a methane gas export facility in Texas and the site of a recent explosion. The investigation into the cause of the explosion has still not been completed. The decision was made during the agency’s monthly meeting.
Courts have consistently ruled that FERC, under existing law, must consider climate and environmental justice impacts in their review and permitting process of gas infrastructure projects, like LNG terminals and interstate gas pipelines. The agency itself has draft policy statements that would further require FERC to consider the impact of foreseeable greenhouse gas emissions of a project, as well as require the impacts on historically marginalized communities and communities of color to be weighed when the agency considers a project.
New and expanded gas export facilities would harm Gulf Coast communities that are already overburdened by industrial pollution from the fossil fuel industry as well as the effects of extreme weather driven by climate change. Ahead of the meeting, former oil industry workers, hurricane recovery leaders, and parents and students from the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast held a press conference to bring attention to the negative impacts LNG export facilities have on frontline communities.
In response, the Sierra Club’s Senior Director of Energy Campaigns Kelly Sheehan issued the following statement:
“Liquified methane gas export facilities are risky, explosive, and expansion is absolutely not in the public interest. Building out additional LNG export capacity would perpetuate cumulative impacts of pollution on low-income communities and communities of color in the Gulf Coast and undermine our progress toward climate action by locking the country into risky, dirty infrastructure for decades. We have already drastically increased LNG exports, which has led to historically high energy prices and will not immediately help relieve supply issues in Europe as it takes years for the projects to be built. FERC has a duty to American communities and consumers, but instead they are helping to line the pockets of billion-dollar gas companies and their executives.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.