March 18, 2022: On March 18, Sierra Club, PennFuture, and Clean Air Council obtained a settlement that halts construction of a proposed liquified natural gas (LNG) plant being built by an affiliate of New Fortress Energy (NFE) in Wyalusing Township, PA. The settlement requires the applicant to apply for a new air quality permit, rather than seek an extension of its original permit, should it attempt to move forward with this proposed project at a later date.
The proposed facility is part of an interstate LNG export scheme that would take fracked gas from Pennsylvania, compress it into LNG, then truck or train it across communities in Pennsylvania to be loaded onto ships at a proposed terminal in Gibbstown, New Jersey before being shipped to overseas markets. If built, the Wyalusing LNG plant would have been allowed to emit more than a million tons of climate-polluting greenhouse gasses every year, as well as hundreds of tons of noxious air pollutants that would have impacted the local community.
In challenging the air quality permit extension, Sierra Club and our partners objected on the grounds that NFE affiliate Bradford County Real Estate Partners (BCREP) had not commenced construction of the air pollution sources at the Wyalusing facility, rendering the extension of its air permit by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) unjustified. The groups also objected on the grounds that this second extension authorized the use of outdated and inappropriate pollution control technology and that DEP set air pollution limits too high, as well as several other deficiencies.
The parties agreed that the company will not move forward with construction under its current air pollution permit, which expires on July 22, 2022. If the company wants to build this LNG facility, it will be required to seek a new air pollution permit rather than applying for another extension of its original permit. By prohibiting BCREP from using the ministerial extension process, the settlement requires the company to conduct a new pollution control analysis, requires DEP to reconsider its decision to label the facility a minor source, and gives the public the opportunity to comment on the application.