Cameron Parish residents raise concerns as LNG plant seeks to increase emissions

In recent years, Venture Global has come under fire from critics for violating environmental protection regulations at its facility in Cameron, Louisiana, once the nation’s largest seafood town. Residents gathered Tuesday night to discuss how the liquefied natural gas exporter has transformed their community and what a pending request to allow the company to increase emissions means for the town’s future.

Fishermen say large containers carrying LNG down the Calcasieu River to the Gulf of Mexico, as well as pollution and noise from there, have devastated once-vibrant estuaries.

“Since the plant opened, the fishing has been pretty uneventful,” said Cameron resident and shrimper Anthony Terio. On windy days, the smells coming from the plant, which is less than a quarter mile from where he fishes, often make him feel uneasy.

“I’ve lived here my whole life and I don’t want to live here anymore,” Terio said. “I don’t want to take any risks.”

During the two-and-a-half-hour meeting, residents complained about poor air quality and respiratory illnesses that they attribute to Calcasieu Pass, an LNG plant opened in 2021 by Venture Global.

John Allaire, a former BP engineer, took the stage to outline Venture Global’s regulatory evasion. He helped the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, an environmental group, produce a report that showed the plant complied with its emissions permit only 17 percent of the days it operated.

“They continue to operate knowing this is happening,” Allaire said. “They haven’t shut it down and fixed it.”

The report also noted that the company failed to report numerous incidents of gas flaring, a maintenance process in which excess gas is burned and toxic pollutants are released into the air.

The public hearing, organized by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, came after Venture Global asked for an increase in its emissions permit, which would increase emissions to Calcasieu Pass from 3.9 million tons to 4.6 million tons per year. These include particulate matter linked to respiratory illnesses, carcinogens such as benzene and formaldehyde, and carbon dioxide. The company is also asking to increase burn time from 60 to 400 hours per year.

Several residents have expressed dissatisfaction with LDEQ’s operations, arguing that the state agency has allowed the company to effectively regulate its operations.

“If I was going 85 miles an hour on the freeway and the police pulled me over, could I say, ‘Let’s just change the speed limit to 95?’” one resident said. “That’s what’s happening with this proposed permit modification.”

“LDEQ’s job is to protect us, the people,” said Robin Thickman, a representative for Fisherman Interested in Saving Our Heritage (FISH). “We can’t afford to fight the diseases that these facilities are causing us… it has to be transparent.”

Thickman and others have questioned why the agency isn’t supporting air quality monitoring technology in the area, even though LDEQ collects air quality data in neighboring Calcasieu Parish and other industrial parishes such as St. James.

“Nobody is monitoring what’s in the air in Cameron Parish at all,” said Jonathan Haitt, another resident. “What are they actually emitting?”

Venture Global, based in Arlington, Virginia, reported 2,000 permit violations in its first year of operation, leading to an LDEQ order for the facility to comply or face a fine. No further action has been taken since.

“It’s been over 13 months without a resolution,” Allaire said. “I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

But the hearing was not without LNG advocates. Residents like Stephanie Rodrigue say the jobs created by the industry have revitalized a community battered by hurricanes and a previous mass exodus of big oil companies.

“The great-paying jobs offered at Venture Global allowed these families to save money and take vacations with their families,” Rodrigue said. “That’s not something that used to happen regularly.”

She also noted the Cam-Mart grocery store and the municipal RV parks – both businesses, she said, survive and thrive because of the employees Venture Global employs.

“All this has improved the quality of life of our residents,” she added.

LNG, essentially methane cooled to liquid form, is touted by the industry as a cleaner alternative to oil and coal because it is easier to transport and emits fewer greenhouse gases when burned. The United States has become the world’s largest exporter of LNG, with Louisiana accounting for 61% these shipments.

“LNG has found a sweet spot in southwest Louisiana,” said Mike Moncla, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, who attended the meeting. He said the growing industry has added $1 billion to the state’s economy.

The Biden administration recently tried to halt LNG exports as part of its climate-focused program before a federal judge in Louisiana blocked the order. Venture Global will reap the toll by the end of the year $17.5 billion in revenues starting in 2022 and is seeking to build a second facility in Plaquemines Parish. Calcasieu Pass is set to be expanded by 500 acres, but Tuesday’s hearing suggests the plan will likely face increased resistance from Cameron residents.