Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)’s approval for Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) LNG export terminal, despite serious concerns with FERC’s decision making and failure to study the project’s cumulative impacts.
“FERC acknowledges the harm it’s causing by approving the massive CP2 LNG terminal and gas pipeline, but FERC approved the project anyway, without even arguing that benefits outweigh the costs,” said Nathan Matthews, Senior Attorney at Earthjustice. “We have separately challenged DOE over its failure to consider harm to the community of Cameron Parish, and look forward to completing that case. These agencies must go back to the drawing board to do their jobs and properly serve the public interest.”
“This decision is a blow for the climate and the communities surrounding this project,” said Gillian Giannetti, senior attorney at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “But the fight is not over and we, alongside our partners, are currently challenging DOE's approval of exports from this polluting project that will harm the environment and do nothing to lower U.S. energy costs.”
“From its first moment in Louisiana, Venture Global has limited fishing access in one of the most beloved areas of our state,” said Anne Rolfes, Director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade.”It is clear to all of us who love this area that permitting this rogue company to build another facility will mean more pollution, more tanker traffic, and fewer fish, shrimp, and fishing families who can make their living. It is a sad day for Louisiana when Venture Global is allowed to relentlessly expand.”
“For years LNG facilities have polluted our air and water and intensified climate change through methane and carbon emission,” said Joanie Steinhaus, Ocean Program Director for Turtle Island Restoration Network. “It is time for the courts to make the commitment to protect our communities and the environment from further contamination and truly acknowledge the long-term cumulative impacts from this massive facility."
“FERC is required to evaluate the full scope of the potential harm from a project, and they failed to do that here,” said Roddy Hughes, Sierra Club Campaign Organizing Strategist. “Construction of the CP2 export facility has already been an unmitigated disaster for the health and livelihoods of the local community; its operation would contribute to skyrocketing energy prices more widely. While this is a setback, we won’t stop fighting against CP2 LNG and the damage it threatens to inflict on communities and our climate.”
“Cameron Parish's historic fishing community--generations of fishing families and businesses whose livelihoods depend on these waters and wildlife--is already being devastated by FERC's rubber-stamping of gas export projects," said Megan Gibson, Senior Attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “FERC has again failed in its basic responsibility by approving these projects without meaningfully accounting for who bears the risks and costs — including communities, local businesses, and the domestic economy. Today's decision puts this community's health and local economy at further risk while companies like Venture Global pursue profits from exports overseas. SELC will continue to support our partners as they oppose this unnecessary, harmful, and costly fossil fuel infrastructure and demand a federal approval process that protects the public interest.”
"After years of litigation, the D.C. Circuit just told our community: a court will not save us. Every harm we’ve warned about has come true: destroyed livelihoods, a wrecked ecosystem, and a fishing industry pushed to the edge, all so Venture Global could ship our gas overseas,” said James Hiatt, For a Better Bayou. “ The court says FERC only had to consider these harms, not weigh them against the damage done to Cameron Parish. FERC's presumption in favor of the industry is so strong it survives a preventable dredge spill that buried oyster beds and killed the shrimp and crab that fishermen depend on. That's not accountability, that's a rubber stamp dressed up as due process. Southwest Louisiana deserves better than being a footnote to a precedent agreement between corporate subsidiaries. We will keep fighting until reliability and the Public Interest mean something more than corporate profit."
Background
If fully constructed, Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass 2 (CP2) LNG export terminal would be one of the largest LNG plants in the nation. It would export 28 million metric tons per year of LNG, and the terminal and pipeline will emit 8.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, the equivalent of 1.8 million cars. Construction for the project has already been disastrous for the local community of Cameron Parrish, devastating the livelihoods of local fishermen.
Earthjustice, representing Sierra Club and alongside NRDC, is also challenging the Department of Energy’s (DOE) approval of LNG exports from CP2. The groups argue the approval was based on unlawful refusal to consider the harms caused by the terminal itself, failure to consider lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, and a lack of other environmental review.
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.