Golden Pass LNG Permit Extension Will Harm American Energy Consumers and Local Community

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Trump Administration approved an extension of the construction deadline for the liquefied methane gas export project Golden Pass LNG. 

Known as LNG, liquefied methane gas exports raise consumer costs and pollute local communities while making climate change worse. Additionally, a recent report from Sierra Club and partners details the extent to which LNG export projects take advantage of  billions of dollars in state tax breaks, while depriving the local communities of tax revenue that could be used to support critical services like, conducting air monitoring, maintaining hospitals and funding schools. Despite the area’s increased risk of developing cancer (one in 5,000 despite the EPA’s upper limit of acceptable cancer risk being one in 10,000)  and crumbling infrastructure of the nearby city of Port Arthur, nearby Golden Pass LNG avoids paying 100% of its property tax bill  because of Texas’ Chapter 312 Property Tax Abatement Program, and gets an additional $235 million under the Chapter 313 Value Limitation Agreement Program. 

In response, Sierra Club Senior Attorney Nathan Matthews released the following statement:

“Golden Pass LNG was a bad idea in 2017 and it’s a bad idea now. LNG exports cannot compete with renewable alternatives that would lower energy prices for Americans while involving them in an energy transition that can provide meaningful jobs and reduce pollutants. This approval is a nonsensical way to help corporate executives and foreign interests get rich. The Trump Administration continues to sell out the American people in the name of profits for polluters.”

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