Thursday, March 24, 2022
Contact:
Morgan Caplan, Sierra Club, morgan.caplan@sierraclub.org
WYALUSING, PA (March 24, 2022) - PennFuture, Clean Air Council, and Sierra Club obtained a settlement on March 18 that halts construction of the proposed Bradford County Real Estate Partners (BCREP) liquified natural gas (LNG) plant in Wyalusing Township, Bradford County, and requires the applicant to obtain a new air quality permit should it wish to continue with this proposed project.
This settlement has major implications for New Jersey. 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, many of which are overburdened, in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This transportation of LNG would put these communities at risk of possible derailment, spills, or explosions as well as more air pollution from the trucks and trains. The LNG would then be loaded onto ships at a proposed terminal in Gibbstown, New Jersey, before being shipped to overseas markets.
If built, the Wyalusing plant would have been allowed to emit more than a million tons of climate-polluting greenhouse gases every year, as well as hundreds of tons of noxious air pollutants that would have impacted the local community as well as New Jersey communities downwind from the plant.
The Wyalusing and Gibbstown facilities are part of a logistically and financially connected LNG export process contemplated by New Fortress Energy. PennFuture and Sierra Club have also objected to a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that seeks to bifurcate this scheme, thereby evading FERC oversight. BCREP is a subsidiary of New Fortress Energy.
In challenging the air quality permit extension, the groups objected on the grounds that BCREP had not commenced construction at the Wyalusing facility as required by law, making PA DEP’s extension unjustified. The groups also objected on the grounds that this second extension authorized the use of an outdated and inappropriate pollution control technology, that PA DEP set air pollution limits too high, and several other deficiencies spelled out in the Notice of Appeal.
The parties agreed that BCREP will not move forward with construction under its current air pollution permit, and will allow the permit to expire on July 22, 2022. In return, the environmental advocacy organizations will end their appeal of a second extension of the air pollution permit issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. If BCREP wants to build this LNG facility, it is required under the settlement to seek a new air pollution permit from PA DEP.
In response, Anjuli Ramos-Busot, Director, Sierra Club NJ Chapter, issued the following statement:
“This settlement in Pennsylvania has major implications for New Jersey, as well as the fossil fuel industry in general. No generation of LNG in Wyalusing, PA means no import of LNG to Gibbstown, NJ. The unnecessary generation and transportation of dangerous LNG would put thousands of people at risk and produce additional air pollution to already overburdened communities. What’s worse is that the LNG would be shipped overseas, providing zero benefits to New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Building more dangerous fossil fuel infrastructure is not the solution to our climate and energy crises.”
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 about our work in New Jersey, visit www.sierraclub.org/new-jersey.